Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Price Target Lowered to $38.00 at UBS Group

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective cut by research analysts at UBS Group from $39.00 to $38.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. UBS Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 14.80% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 11th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.92.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE MUR traded up $0.90 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $33.10. 617,855 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,659,867. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.74 and its 200-day moving average is $37.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil has a 52-week low of $30.99 and a 52-week high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.74 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Murphy Oil will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 138.8% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 29,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 17,265 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 218,739 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $9,021,000 after purchasing an additional 38,334 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 24.2% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 166,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,859,000 after purchasing an additional 32,411 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth about $1,700,000. Finally, AXA S.A. raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 86.5% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 132,710 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,473,000 after acquiring an additional 61,537 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Murphy Oil

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.