Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Lowered to $34.00 at Piper Sandler

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective cut by Piper Sandler from $35.00 to $34.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

MUR has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.31.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 5.1 %

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $25.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 2.18. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $22.90 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $28.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results 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 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.325 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.12%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.