Murphy Oil's (NYSE:MUR) Returns On Capital Are Heading Higher

If you're not sure where to start when looking for the next multi-bagger, there are a few key trends you should keep an eye out for. In a perfect world, we'd like to see a company investing more capital into its business and ideally the returns earned from that capital are also increasing. Put simply, these types of businesses are compounding machines, meaning they are continually reinvesting their earnings at ever-higher rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) so let's look a bit deeper.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

For those who don't know, ROCE is a measure of a company's yearly pre-tax profit (its return), relative to the capital employed in the business. The formula for this calculation on Murphy Oil is:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.11 = US$949m ÷ (US$9.9b - US$928m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2024).

Therefore, Murphy Oil has an ROCE of 11%. That's a relatively normal return on capital, and it's around the 12% generated by the Oil and Gas industry.

Check out our latest analysis for Murphy Oil

Above you can see how the current ROCE for Murphy Oil compares to its prior returns on capital, but there's only so much you can tell from the past. If you'd like, you can check out the forecasts from the analysts covering Murphy Oil for free.

What The Trend Of ROCE Can Tell Us

Murphy Oil has not disappointed in regards to ROCE growth. The data shows that returns on capital have increased by 167% over the trailing five years. That's not bad because this tells for every dollar invested (capital employed), the company is increasing the amount earned from that dollar. Interestingly, the business may be becoming more efficient because it's applying 21% less capital than it was five years ago. A business that's shrinking its asset base like this isn't usually typical of a soon to be multi-bagger company.

The Key Takeaway

From what we've seen above, Murphy Oil has managed to increase it's returns on capital all the while reducing it's capital base. And a remarkable 125% total return over the last five years tells us that investors are expecting more good things to come in the future. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Murphy Oil can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead.

On a final note, we've found 2 warning signs for Murphy Oil that we think you should be aware of.

If you want to search for solid companies with great earnings, check out this free list of companies with good balance sheets and impressive returns on equity.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.