Murphy Oil Corporation Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.35 (NYSE:MUR)

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a dividend of 0.35 per share by the oil and gas producer on Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th.

Murphy Oil has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 5 years. Murphy Oil has a dividend payout ratio of 52.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Murphy Oil to earn $2.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 50.4%.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $36.03 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.07 and a beta of 0.50. Murphy Oil has a 1 year low of $21.86 and a 1 year high of $43.34. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.26.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.09% and a net margin of 3.02%.The business had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MUR. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho upgraded Murphy Oil to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.33.

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.