Morgan Stanley Lowers Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $32.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) had its price objective decreased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $37.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "underweight" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential upside of 12.38% from the company's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on MUR. Truist Financial cut shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. 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 research report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.92.

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Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MUR traded up $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $28.48. 2,680,658 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,896,751. The company has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 2.18. The business's fifty day moving average is $27.36 and its 200 day moving average is $30.69. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $22.90 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 5.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

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