Piper Sandler Lowers Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target to $42.00

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) had its target price reduced by Piper Sandler from $43.00 to $42.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the oil and gas producer's stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on MUR. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. 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 report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.92.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock traded up $0.79 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $33.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,541,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,161. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $30.99 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $33.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 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 company had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $759.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUR. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 22.1% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 51,812 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,368,000 after purchasing an additional 9,370 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Murphy Oil by 76.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 15,216 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $706,000 after acquiring an additional 6,604 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth about $974,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 29,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 17,265 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at about $372,000. 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.