Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Trading 5.5% Higher – Here’s What Happened

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) was up 5.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.66 and last traded at $34.6820. Approximately 352,676 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 2,319,890 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.88.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $44.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Johnson Rice upgraded Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $38.58.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 4.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.15 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $732.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.96 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 3.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.