Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Cut to $32.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its target price cut by research analysts at Barclays from $34.00 to $32.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.05% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.31.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $27.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a PE ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 2.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil has a 12 month low of $22.90 and a 12 month high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. 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.