Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) is set to report fourth-quarter and 2018 results on Jan 31. In the last reported quarter, the company posted negative earnings surprise of 2.78%.
Factors to Consider
Murphy Oil expects net production for fourth-quarter 2018 in the range of 167,000-169,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d). For 2018, production is estimated in the range of 168,500-170,500 boe/d.
The company apprehends that production in the Gulf of Mexico will be negatively impacted by an active tropical storm and hurricanes. Mechanical issues in the field and some non-operated onshore facilities will lower production in Malaysia. In addition, the scheduled turnaround to non-operated Hibernia Field offshore Canada was delayed and extended into the fourth quarter. All these factors are likely to adversely impact production.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter revenues is $683.45 million, reflecting an increase of 26.19% year over year. Also, the consensus estimate for earnings is pegged at 23 cents, which reflects a surge of 187.50 % year over year.
Murphy Oil Corporation Price and EPS Surprise
Murphy Oil Corporation Price and EPS Surprise | Murphy Oil Corporation Quote
Earnings Whispers
A stock needs to have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) to be able to beat estimates. However, Murphy Oil does not have the right combination as elaborated below.
Earnings ESP: The company’s Earnings ESP is 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.
Zacks Rank: The stock holds a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
However, we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank #4 or 5 (Strong Sell) going into the earnings announcement, especially when the company is seeing a negative estimate revision momentum.
Stocks to Consider
Here are a few players in the same industry that have the right combination of elements to post earnings beat this quarter.
CNX Resources Corporation. (NYSE:CNX) has Earnings ESP of +5.26% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to release fourth-quarter 2018 results on Jan 31.
Cheniere Energy, Inc (NYSE:LNG) has Earnings ESP of +53.85% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to release fourth-quarter 2018 results on Feb 26.
Chaparral Energy, Inc (NYSE:CHAP) has Earnings ESP of +11.63% and a Zacks Rank #3. The company is expected to release fourth-quarter 2018 results on Feb 12.
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