Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Stock Price

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $37.00 to $32.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential upside of 12.80% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Mizuho cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.92.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.1 %

MUR stock traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $28.37. The company had a trading volume of 906,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,940,661. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.79. Murphy Oil has a 12 month low of $22.90 and a 12 month high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results 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 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Huntington National Bank increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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.