Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Stock Price Up 3.3% – Here’s Why

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) traded up 3.3% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $28.65 and last traded at $28.65. 212,721 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 2,938,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.74.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.92.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $27.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.77. 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 market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. The trade was 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.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth approximately $1,217,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $56,214,000 after acquiring an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $618,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 14,181 shares during the period. Finally, Simmons Bank grew its position in Murphy Oil by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 43,668 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 13,262 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.