Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Share Price Crosses Below 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s share price passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $36.86 and traded as low as $35.38. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $35.9580, with a volume of 2,395,649 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Murphy Oil from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.75.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 8.9%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $38.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.86. The company has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $849.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $781.53 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is presently 69.31%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 14,700.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 55.5% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Its activities include identifying, acquiring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, with a focus on high-quality assets in North America.

The company’s operations are primarily located in the United States, including onshore assets in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas and offshore properties in the Gulf of Mexico. Murphy Oil has also historically maintained exploration and production interests in Canada and other international regions, although its current portfolio is concentrated in the United States.

Founded in 1950, Murphy Oil has evolved from a diversified energy company into a focused exploration and production business.