Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Given “Underweight” Rating at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley restated their underweight rating on shares of Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $37.00 price objective on the oil and gas producer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on MUR. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.42.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR opened at $29.66 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil has a 12-month low of $27.75 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 2.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $34.33.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.5% in the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,529 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,140 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.