Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Cut to "Underweight" at Barclays

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Barclays from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $24.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer's stock, down from their previous price objective of $32.00. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 12.05% from the stock's current price.

MUR has been the subject of several other research reports. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $32.23.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of MUR stock opened at $21.42 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil has a 12 month low of $18.95 and a 12 month high of $46.91. 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 cap of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $25.11 and a 200-day moving average of $29.12.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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. Insiders own 6.52% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,751,737 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $53,008,000 after purchasing an additional 837,282 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 61.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,147,590 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $64,986,000 after purchasing an additional 821,427 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 399.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,012,944 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,177,000 after purchasing an additional 810,104 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 108.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,529,528 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $46,284,000 after purchasing an additional 794,730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 886,485.1% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 594,012 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $17,976,000 after buying an additional 593,945 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.

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