Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Lowered to $31.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $35.00 to $31.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.83.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $26.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of 8.57 and a beta of 2.17. Murphy Oil has a 1 year low of $26.47 and a 1 year high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.89.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.89%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,758 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.