Brokerages Set Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) PT at $39.58

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $39.58.

MUR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho lowered 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at about $1,217,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 218,739 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $9,021,000 after purchasing an additional 38,334 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 24.2% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 166,316 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,859,000 after purchasing an additional 32,411 shares in the last quarter. Prospector Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 50.5% during the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 307,092 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $10,361,000 after buying an additional 103,092 shares during the period. Finally, AXA S.A. grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 86.5% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 132,710 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,473,000 after buying an additional 61,537 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Murphy Oil stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.23. 4,403,086 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,671,981. The firm's fifty day moving average is $32.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 2.18. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $27.75 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. Murphy Oil's quarterly revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

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.