Barclays Cuts Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $34.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its target price cut by Barclays from $37.00 to $34.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank reduced their price target on 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.33.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of MUR opened at $26.71 on Monday. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $25.26 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.34 and a 200 day moving average of $33.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.87%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lindenwold Advisors INC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,529 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 16.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,140 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 8.1% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.