Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Raised to $54.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price target raised by KeyCorp from $50.00 to $54.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on MUR. Mizuho lifted their price target on Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Scotiabank cut Murphy Oil from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating and lifted their price target for the company from $46.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $50.64.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $46.22 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $7.05 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 2.21. The business has a fifty day moving average of $43.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.65. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $32.80 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.10). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 19.12% and a return on equity of 13.02%. The business had revenue of $844.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $852.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 28.44%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total transaction of $433,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 40,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,759,576.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total transaction of $433,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 40,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,759,576.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total value of $1,208,584.40. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,589.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644. 5.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $70,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.7% in the 1st quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 3,392 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $155,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.