Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Cut to $35.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price target cut by Piper Sandler from $39.00 to $35.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MUR. Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.08.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MUR stock opened at $29.09 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Murphy Oil has a 1-year low of $27.75 and a 1-year high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.74 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,758 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.