Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.37 and last traded at $38.2340, with a volume of 3584461 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.79.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, March 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.82.

Murphy Oil Price 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.10 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.65.

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

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 194.44%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total transaction of $1,598,942.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 36,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,222,049.14. The trade was a 56.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 6.52% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Murphy Oil by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,662 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Impact Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC now owns 15,143 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,893 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.