Q1 EPS Estimates for Murphy Oil Decreased by Analyst

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) - Investment analysts at Capital One Financial dropped their Q1 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Murphy Oil in a report released on Tuesday, February 4th. Capital One Financial analyst B. Velie now anticipates that the oil and gas producer will post earnings per share of $0.63 for the quarter, down from their previous estimate of $0.81. The consensus estimate for Murphy Oil's current full-year earnings is $3.21 per share.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MUR. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.33.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MUR traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $26.82. 4,483,151 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,579,403. Murphy Oil has a 1 year low of $25.26 and a 1 year high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business's 50 day moving average is $30.10 and its 200-day moving average is $33.36. The company has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 2.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 15.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 36,892 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,068 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised 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 purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 38,804 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,600,000 after buying an additional 1,609 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 92.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,266 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

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

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.85%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.61%.

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.