Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes for Murphy Oil (MUR)

Murphy Oil (NYSE: MUR) recently received a number of ratings updates from brokerages and research firms:

• 2/3/2025 – Murphy Oil had its price target lowered by analysts at KeyCorp from $50.00 to $37.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 2/3/2025 – Murphy Oil had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group AG from $34.00 to $32.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 2/3/2025 – Murphy Oil had its price target lowered by analysts at Barclays PLC from $37.00 to $34.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 1/31/2025 – Murphy Oil was downgraded by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating. They now have a $31.00 price target on the stock, down previously from $42.00.
• 1/31/2025 – Murphy Oil had its price target lowered by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $35.00 to $31.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
• 1/29/2025 – Murphy Oil had its price target lowered by analysts at Piper Sandler from $39.00 to $35.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 1/22/2025 – Murphy Oil had its “underweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Morgan Stanley. They now have a $37.00 price target on the stock.
• 1/13/2025 – Murphy Oil had its price target raised by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $40.00 to $42.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $28.30 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.75. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $25.26 and a 1-year high of $49.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 2.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now 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. 5.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 342.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.