Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.88 and last traded at $34.7960, with a volume of 106159 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $33.27.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Zacks Research raised Murphy Oil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $29.75.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.32 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.97.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $720.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $648.80 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 4.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 67.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 148.1% in the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 39.7% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 494.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 437.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.