Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Hits New 52-Week Low - What's Next?

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $32.53 and last traded at $32.72, with a volume of 109740 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MUR shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.17.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $35.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 2.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $802.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $813.97 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.79 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.47 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Duality Advisers LP grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 364.6% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 113,451 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $5,185,000 after buying an additional 89,032 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 138.8% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 29,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,357,000 after acquiring an additional 17,265 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,642 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the first quarter worth approximately $1,022,000. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 21.2% during the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 218,739 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $9,021,000 after purchasing an additional 38,334 shares during the period. 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.