Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.74, but opened at $38.89. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $38.9070, with a volume of 514,176 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the topic of several research reports. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Murphy Oil from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.36.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $35.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 53.12 and a beta of 0.59.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.73%. The company had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 194.44%.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total value of $1,598,942.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 36,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,222,049.14. This trade represents a 56.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 84,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter worth $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 249,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,074,000 after buying an additional 45,841 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 9.8% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,471 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 2,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 437.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

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.