Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MUR. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 14th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $29.69.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.3%

MUR traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $31.49. 236,177 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,626,128. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $35.19. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.07 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.25. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 4.30% and a net margin of 5.16%.The firm had revenue of $720.97 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $648.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. SIR Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at $30,896,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,068,290 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $69,037,000 after purchasing an additional 950,630 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 60.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,119,622 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $60,218,000 after purchasing an additional 794,510 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth about $21,096,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 33.3% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,056,427 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $58,423,000 after purchasing an additional 514,127 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.