Earnings estimates for Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) have been revised upward in the past 60 days, reflecting analysts’ optimism in the stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2019 and 2020 earnings moved up 43.2% and 10.2% to $1.49 and $2.59 per share, respectively.
Let’s focus on the factors that make Murphy Oil a profitable pick.
Earnings & Surprise History
Murphy Oil delivered first-quarter 2019 adjusted earnings of 15 cents per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 10 cents by 50%. The company’s average four-quarter positive earnings surprise is 17.33%.
Zacks Rank & Price Movement
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Shares of Murphy Oil have gained 16.2% year to date compared with the industry’s rise of 9.5%.
Debt/Capital &Current Ratio
Murphy Oil is continuously working to preserve balance-sheet strength. Currently, the company has a current ratio of 1.61. Its financial strength will enable the company to meet near-term debt obligation. Its long-term debt-to-capital ratio is 40.19%, lower than the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s level of 42.29%.
Capital Expenditure
Murphy Oil possesses one of the best upstream portfolios among the domestic oil and natural gas integrated companies as well as independent E&P group. The company projects 2019 capital expenditures in the range of $1.15-$1.35 billion. In the first quarter, the company spent $591 million on exploration and production, up 49% from year-ago quarter’s level. Higher capital expenditures reflect increased development drilling activities.
Other Stocks to Consider
Some other top-ranked stocks from the same industryare Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) , Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) and Continental Resources, Inc (NYSE:CLR) , Anadarko Petroleum and Apache sport a Zacks Rank of 1, while Continental Resources holds a Zacks Rank of 2.
Anadarko Petroleum pulled off average positive earnings surprise of 6.63% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 6.50%.
Apache came up with average positive earnings surprise of 31.12% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 6%.
Continental Resources delivered average positive earnings surprise of 7.78% in the last four quarters. The company’s long-term earnings growth is pegged at 16.60%.
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Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Continental Resources, Inc. (CLR): Free Stock Analysis Report
Apache Corporation (APA): Free Stock Analysis Report
Murphy Oil Corporation (MUR): Free Stock Analysis Report
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