Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Cut to $34.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) had its target price cut by equities researchers at Piper Sandler from $35.00 to $34.00 in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas producer's stock. Piper Sandler's price target would suggest a potential upside of 32.68% from the stock's current price.

MUR has been the subject of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.31.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $25.63. 4,240,875 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,735,761. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $28.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.70. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.92% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,548,711 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $119,755,000 after acquiring an additional 45,432 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,807,277 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $84,948,000 after buying an additional 114,656 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 2.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 58,220 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,234,585 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $67,619,000 after buying an additional 107,871 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Murphy Oil by 61.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,147,590 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $64,986,000 after purchasing an additional 821,427 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.