Wall Street Zen Downgrades Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) to Sell

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on MUR. Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $29.42.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR opened at $33.11 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.64. The company has a market capitalization of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.99 and a beta of 0.72. Murphy Oil has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $35.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.77.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy Oil

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.