Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Cut to $29.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective lowered by investment analysts at Barclays from $31.00 to $29.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “underweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. Barclays‘s target price would indicate a potential downside of 4.08% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research cut Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 10th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $29.69.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 2.7%

NYSE:MUR traded down $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $30.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 685,542 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,855,849. Murphy Oil has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $35.19. The company has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.01 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $31.91 and its 200-day moving average is $28.46.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.72% and a net margin of 3.83%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.6% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,700,148 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $128,253,000 after buying an additional 89,382 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 7.0% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 4,766,534 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $107,247,000 after acquiring an additional 312,904 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.3% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,751,712 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $84,414,000 after buying an additional 118,689 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 21.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,736,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $106,163,000 after purchasing an additional 668,525 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 8.3% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 2,656,394 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $75,468,000 after purchasing an additional 204,349 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy Oil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board raised and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share (annualized $1.40) — a 7.7% increase from the prior payout, supporting income investors and signaling confidence in cash returns. Murphy Oil Announces Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 EPS beat expectations: reported $0.14 EPS vs. consensus losses, which cushioned downside from weaker top?line results. EPS outperformance reduces near?term earnings uncertainty. Murphy Oil Q4 Earnings Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $32, indicating at least one analyst sees upside from current levels. That may help support the stock if execution/commodity trends stabilize. Wells Fargo Raises Price Target to $32
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released full Q4 & full?year 2025 results plus 2026 capital?expenditure and production guidance — investors should review guidance details for 2026 production and capex assumptions. Murphy Oil Announces Q4 and Full-Year Results & Guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Company published the Q4 earnings slide deck and transcript (useful for detail on cash flow, capital allocation and asset sales plans). Review the presentation for management commentary on margins and buybacks/dividends. Q4 Results – Earnings Call Presentation
• Neutral Sentiment: Local coverage reports the company posted $11.9M in quarterly profit — confirms the modest net result but underscores the drop from prior year. Murphy Oil Posts $11.9M Quarterly Profit
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed estimates: Q4 revenue of ~$613M came in below consensus, sparking the intra?day selloff as top?line weakness raises questions about demand and pricing exposure. Murphy Oil Shares Tumble as Q4 Revenue Misses
• Negative Sentiment: Net income and operating cash flow declined sharply year?over?year (net income down ~76%; operating cash flow down ~42%), and capex rose — this mix pressures free cash flow and could constrain buybacks or future dividend growth if trends persist. Q4 Earnings: Revenue Miss, EPS Beats; Net Income Falls Sharply
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed with recent underweight ratings and a wide range of price targets (median near ~$30.5) — heightened analyst caution could keep volatility high until revenue/cash?flow trends improve. Analyst Ratings & Price Targets Summary

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.