Zacks Research Upgrades Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) to Hold

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

MUR has been the topic of several other research reports. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $31.00 to $29.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $29.83.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 3.1%

Murphy Oil stock opened at $32.60 on Monday. 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 has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $36.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.28 and a beta of 0.72.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted 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 analyst estimates of $650.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. Murphy Oil’s revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 67.3% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.