Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Given New $54.00 Price Target at KeyCorp

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) had its price objective upped by KeyCorp from $50.00 to $54.00 in a report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the oil and gas producer’s stock. KeyCorp’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.98% from the stock’s previous close.

MUR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.64.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $46.16 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.32 and a 200-day moving average of $42.62. Murphy Oil has a 1-year low of $32.80 and a 1-year high of $49.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 2.21.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.10). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $844.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $852.24 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 9,504 shares in the company, valued at $379,589.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 110,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.39, for a total transaction of $4,442,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,035,190 shares in the company, valued at $41,811,324.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 9,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,589.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth $30,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth $70,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 14.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $151,000. 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.