Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

MUR has been the subject of a number of other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $28.64.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $29.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.16 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.58. Murphy Oil has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $35.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 180.56%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 440 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 494.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Murphy Oil

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.