Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low on Friday . The company traded as low as $30.48 and last traded at $30.60, with a volume of 128202 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $31.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 30th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on 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. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $40.92.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.77. The company has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 2.18.

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

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.5% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,529 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 16.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,140 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $129,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 8.1% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,574 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. 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.