Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $45.03 and last traded at $44.0520, with a volume of 1,543,682 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.34.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MUR. Barclays downgraded Murphy Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, September 7th. Mizuho raised their price target on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.92.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 0.9%

The stock has a market capitalization of $6.41 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $37.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $926.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 16th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.31%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 14,700.0% in the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. Its activities include identifying, acquiring, developing and producing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids, with a focus on high-quality assets in North America.

The company’s operations are primarily located in the United States, including onshore assets in the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas and offshore properties in the Gulf of Mexico. Murphy Oil has also historically maintained exploration and production interests in Canada and other international regions, although its current portfolio is concentrated in the United States.

Founded in 1950, Murphy Oil has evolved from a diversified energy company into a focused exploration and production business.