Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The oil and gas producer reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.17, FiscalAI reports. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%. The company had revenue of $849.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $781.53 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

MUR stock traded down $3.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.96. The stock had a trading volume of 2,395,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,568,902. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $26.49 and a 52 week high of $45.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.86.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MUR shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. Barclays downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $38.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Friday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Zacks Research raised Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.75.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.