Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Cut to $38.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) had its price target lowered by UBS Group from $39.00 to $38.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

MUR has been the subject of several other reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 27th. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.92.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $33.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,541,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,161. The business has a fifty day moving average of $33.71 and a 200 day moving average of $37.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil has a 12 month low of $30.99 and a 12 month high of $49.14.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $759.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,254,125 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $340,400,000 after purchasing an additional 262,256 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,548,711 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $119,755,000 after buying an additional 45,432 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 7.7% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,737,409 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $125,100,000 after acquiring an additional 195,906 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 2.3% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,627,701 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $88,659,000 after acquiring an additional 58,220 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Murphy Oil by 5.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,138,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $88,212,000 after acquiring an additional 107,462 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.