Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $35.27 and last traded at $34.3910, with a volume of 310163 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Zacks Research lowered Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, January 16th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $29.42.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 47.58 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $32.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.64.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.73%. The business had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 194.44%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MUR. SIR Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,896,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 44.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,068,290 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $69,037,000 after acquiring an additional 950,630 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 60.0% during the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,119,622 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $60,218,000 after purchasing an additional 794,510 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at about $21,096,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 33.3% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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.