Yahoo Finance Murphy Oil (MUR) Earnings Beat in Q2 on Strong Production
Murphy Oil Corporation MUR delivered second-quarter 2024 adjusted net earnings of 81 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 73 cents by 10.9%. The bottom line increased 2.5% from the year-ago quarter’s 79 cents.
GAAP earnings were 83 cents compared with 62 cents in the year-ago quarter. The difference between GAAP and operating earnings was due to discontinued operations and other items affecting comparability between periods.
Revenues
Murphy Oil’s revenues were $802.7 million, which marginally missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $803 million. Additionally, the top line declined 1.5% from the prior-year quarter’s $815 million.
Murphy Oil Corporation Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Murphy Oil Corporation price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Murphy Oil Corporation Quote
Operational Highlights
Murphy Oil produced 180,579 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/D) in second-quarter 2024 (excluding non-controlling interest in GOM) versus 184,250 BOE/D in second-quarter 2023. Out of the total second-quarter 2024 production, 50% was oil. MUR’s second-quarter production was near the high end of the production volume of 176,000-1,84,000 BOE/D attributed to strong contributions from its onshore assets.
Total costs and expenses were $618.4 million, down 4.8% from $649.7 million a year ago.
The company incurred net interest charges of $20.9 million, down nearly 29.7% from $29.8 million in the prior-year quarter.
MUR reduced debt worth $500 million in 2023 and is on track to further reduce its outstanding debt by $300 million in 2024. The company reduced its debt by $50 million in the second quarter and is working to achieve its long-term debt reduction target of $1 billion.
Murphy Oil continues to buyback shares and increase the value of its shareholders. In the second quarter, Murphy Oil repurchased $56 million of stock, or 1.4 million shares, at an average price of $41.03 per share. Subsequent to the second quarter, Murphy Oil repurchased $44 million of stock, or 1.1 million shares, at an average price of $38.62 per share. Additionally, the board of directors increased the share repurchase authorization by $500 million.
As of Aug 7, 2024, Murphy Oil had repurchased $150 million of stock in 2024, or 3.8 million shares, at an average price of $39.70 per share. Murphy Oil currently has $800 million remaining under the share repurchase authorization and 150.1 million shares outstanding.
Financial Condition
The company had cash and cash equivalents of $333.7 million as of Jun 30, 2024, compared with $317.1 million as of Dec 31, 2023. It had $1.1 billion of liquidity as of Jun 30, 2024.
Long-term debt totaled $1.27 billion as of Jun 30, 2024, against $1.32 billion as of Dec 31, 2023.
Net cash provided by continuing operational activities in first-six months of 2024 was $866.4 million compared with $749. 7 million in first-half of 2023.
Guidance
MUR expects its third-quarter 2024 production, excluding NCI, in the range of 181,500-189,500 BOE/D.
The company projects 2024 capital expenditures in the band of $920 - $1,020 million.
It anticipates 2024 production in the range of 180,000-188,000 BOE/D.
Zacks Rank
Murphy Oil currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Other Releases
Devon Energy Corp. DVN reported second-quarter 2024 earnings per share of $1.41, outpacing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.29 by 9.3%.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DVN’s 2024 earnings is pegged at $5.41 per share, implying an increase of 4.2% in the past 60 days. The stock delivered an average earnings surprise of 5.49% in the last four quarters.
Halliburton Company HAL reported second-quarter 2024 adjusted net income per share of 80 cents, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate and above the year-ago quarter’s profit of 77 cents (adjusted).
HAL’s long-term earnings growth rate is currently pinned at 9.33%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 EPS is pegged at $3.18, indicating no change in the past seven days.
Occidental Petroleum Corporation OXY reported second-quarter 2024 earnings of $1.03 per share, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 77 cents by 33.8%.
Occidental Petroleum reported an average earnings surprise of 20.61% in the last four quarters. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2024 EPS is pegged at $3.60, indicating a decrease of 7.5% in the past 60 days.
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