Barclays has adjusted its rating on Murphy Oil (MUR, Financial), moving it to Underweight from its previous Equal Weight position. The financial institution also revised its price target for the company, reducing it to $24 from $32. This change in perspective follows a series of operational difficulties faced by Murphy Oil over recent quarters.
The company has experienced higher-than-anticipated unplanned downtime, even after expectations were adjusted downward, which has negatively impacted both production levels and cash costs. These ongoing issues have led to continued disappointment among investors.
Barclays expressed concerns that these operational challenges could be exacerbated by declining oil prices. They highlighted that Murphy Oil has the highest oil price breakeven point among the companies covered in their analysis. This makes the company particularly vulnerable in a lower oil price environment.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast
Based on the one-year price targets offered by 16 analysts, the average target price for Murphy Oil Corp (MUR, Financial) is $31.06 with a high estimate of $45.00 and a low estimate of $22.00. The average target implies an upside of 45.22% from the current price of $21.39. More detailed estimate data can be found on the Murphy Oil Corp (MUR) Forecast page.
Based on the consensus recommendation from 19 brokerage firms, Murphy Oil Corp's (MUR, Financial) average brokerage recommendation is currently 2.8, indicating "Hold" status. The rating scale ranges from 1 to 5, where 1 signifies Strong Buy, and 5 denotes Sell.
Based on GuruFocus estimates, the estimated GF Value for Murphy Oil Corp (MUR, Financial) in one year is $33.89, suggesting a upside of 58.44% from the current price of $21.39. GF Value is GuruFocus' estimate of the fair value that the stock should be traded at. It is calculated based on the historical multiples the stock has traded at previously, as well as past business growth and the future estimates of the business' performance. More detailed data can be found on the Murphy Oil Corp (MUR) Summary page.
