Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,392 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $678,000.
Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $113,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $188,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Shares of NYSE:MUR traded up $0.27 on Monday, hitting $25.63. 4,240,875 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,735,761. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $22.90 and a 1-year high of $49.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $28.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.70.
Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.07%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is currently 48.33%.
In other news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Several brokerages recently issued reports on MUR. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.31.
View Our Latest Report on MUR
Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.
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