Brokerages Set Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Price Target at $32.23

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the thirteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.23.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial cut shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 target price on Murphy Oil and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the 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 purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.52% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 399.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,012,944 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,177,000 after buying an additional 810,104 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 valued at $53,824,000 after purchasing an additional 336,372 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $276,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,881 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded up $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $21.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,937,997 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,346. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $24.66 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $18.95 and a one year high of $46.91. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 1.68.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

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.