Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Lowered to $28.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $33.00 to $28.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.20% from the company's previous close.

MUR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial cut shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $35.46.

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Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MUR traded down $0.17 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $24.96. 1,332,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,739,860. Murphy Oil has a 1 year low of $22.90 and a 1 year high of $49.14. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $28.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy Oil news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director now 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 5.95% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 51,295 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,731,000 after acquiring an additional 6,812 shares during the last quarter. Simmons Bank grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 491.4% in the third quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 30,406 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 25,265 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 17.4% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 195,183 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $6,585,000 after purchasing an additional 28,867 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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