Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Receives “Underweight” Rating from Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reiterated their underweight rating on shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $37.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.42.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $30.86 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 2.17. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $27.75 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Lindenwold Advisors INC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,529 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 16.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,140 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 8.1% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $222,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.