Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil’s (MUR - Snapshot Report) share price has experienced volatility along with the price of crude. However, its chart and fundamentals reflect stronger growth than its competitors. The company recently hiked its annual dividend from 75 cents per share to $1.00.

Company Description

Murphy Oil Corporation is an international oil and gas player, operating through various subsidiaries in oil and natural gas production the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Malaysia and Ecuador. MUR conducts exploration activities worldwide.

The company owns refining and marketing operations in the United States and the United Kingdom. Murphy USA Marketing Co. (Murphy Oil USA, Inc.) operates retail gasoline stations under the Murphy USA® brand across 20 states in the U.S. These are high-volume, low-cost retail gasoline stations, primarily in the parking areas of Wal-Mart Supercenters.

Murphy Oil USA, Inc. also operates a network of 12 Company-owned terminals. The terminals, along with numerous third-party terminals, provide fuel supply to retail and branded wholesale stations throughout 23 states.

Higher Income

The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of 25 cents per share, which translates into annual income of $1.00 per share. This dividend, which is payable September 2 to holders of record as of August 18, marked an of 25 cents on an annual basis.

Quarterly Growth

The company delivered second-quarter adjusted earnings of $2.92 per share, which topped the consensus estimate by 33% and came in above the year-prior total.

Management said total production volumes in the third quarter 2008 should average 128,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, but sales volumes are projected to average 117,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Favorable Comparisons

MUR turned in 5 consecutive quarters of profits, versus it competitors such as BP plc (BP - Snapshot Report) and Exxon Mobil (XOM - Analyst Report), both of which had quarters of losses over the same time frame.

On average, Murphy Oil exceeded analyst earnings expectations by 24% over the past 5 straight quarters. Both BP and XOM had misses in that time. BP disappointed by an average of 5%, while XOM fell short of forecasts by an average of 2%.

Murphy’s chart also compares favorably to those of BP and XOM.

Murphy’s return on equity (ROE) of 26% is slightly better than the industry’s average of 25%, and the company is expected to grow by 32% over the next 3 – 5 years, which is almost three times the industry average of 12%.