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

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $35.00 to $31.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 14.97% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on MUR. Truist Financial lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.83.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of MUR stock traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.96. The stock had a trading volume of 639,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,242,035. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $30.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 2.17. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $26.47 and a 52-week high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,548,711 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $119,755,000 after purchasing an additional 45,432 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.3% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,627,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $88,659,000 after acquiring an additional 58,220 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,751,737 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,008,000 after buying an additional 837,282 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 3,191.6% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,627,268 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 26.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,260 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,824,000 after purchasing an additional 336,372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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.