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Murphy Oil (MUR) Gains From Cost Savings, High-Margin Assets

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Murphy Oil Corporation’s (MUR - Free Report) efforts to trim costs and its low-cost asset development are aiding the stock’s growth. Also, its steady advancement activities are likely to enhance its existing businesses.

We recently issued an updated research report on this currently Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company, which has a trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 50.23%, on average.

What’s Driving the Stock?

Murphy Oil possesses one of the best upstream portfolios among the domestic oil and natural gas integrated companies and the independent E&P group. The company is regularly pursuing developmental endeavors in the United States and at other global sites. It undertook cost-containment measures, which led to a 40% decline in 2020 G&A expenses from the 2019 baseline.

Over the past several months, the company has been trying to transform its portfolio through strategic moves like acquisitions, divestitures and oil-weighted discoveries. Its focus on developing high-margin liquid assets is evident from its production mix. The company is maintaining a multi-basin portfolio of onshore and offshore assets for additional risk-reduction amid fluctuating prices.

Woes

However, Murphy Oil operates in a highly competitive environment, which might dent its profitability. Also, stringent regulations and unfavorable foreign currency conversion rates are its near-term concerns.

Price Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil have rallied 17.7% in the past month, outperforming the industry’s 11.2% growth.

One Month Price Performance

Zacks Investment ResearchImage Source: Zacks Investment Research

Stocks to Consider

A few better-ranked stocks in the same industry are Callon Petroleum Company (CPE - Free Report) , Gulfport Energy Corporation and Oasis Petroleum Inc. , all sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Callon Petroleum, Gulfport Energy and Oasis Petroleum delivered an earnings surprise of 171.5%, 404.8% and 88.7%, respectively, on average, in the last four quarters.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2021 earnings of Callon Petroleum, Gulfport Energy and Oasis Petroleum has been revised 0.2%, 1,254.5% and 525.1% upward in the past 60 days, respectively.

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