Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Stock Price Target Raised at Barclays

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Barclays from $34.00 to $35.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “underweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Barclays‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 4.61% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MUR. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.83.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $36.69. 120,672 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,043,242. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.99. Murphy Oil has a 52 week low of $28.70 and a 52 week high of $45.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $849.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $781.53 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.90%. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 3.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 10,954 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 4.4% during the second quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 7,774 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 37,576 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,223,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,096 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Murphy Oil by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 15,215 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. It explores for and develops crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, with operations focused on onshore areas of the United States and Canada and offshore areas in the Gulf of Mexico. The company traces its roots to 1950, when it was founded as Murphy Corporation. Over time, Murphy shifted its focus toward exploration and production and expanded its activities internationally, later concentrating its portfolio on North American assets.