Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Given New $33.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $32.00 to $33.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential downside of 5.69% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $29.83.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded up $0.94 during trading on Thursday, reaching $34.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,093,592 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,494,874. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $36.08. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.84. The stock has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.60 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.73%. The firm had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Murphy Oil’s revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $233,000. TMB Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at $808,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 137.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 32,972 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $995,000 after buying an additional 19,067 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 18,768 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $586,000 after buying an additional 1,873 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth about $1,125,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.