Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $31.64, but opened at $32.81. Murphy Oil shares last traded at $32.53, with a volume of 445,473 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.58.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 2.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 2.17. 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’s 50-day moving average is $31.26 and its 200 day moving average is $35.00.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.5% during the 3rd 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. grew its position in Murphy Oil by 16.2% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,140 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 8.1% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd 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 hedge funds and other 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.