Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Position Increased by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR – Get Rating) by 14.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,609 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 15,473 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.08% of Murphy Oil worth $5,230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $279,520,000. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 41,672 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,561 shares in the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,114,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $274,000. Finally, Credit Suisse AG lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 13.9% in the third quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 293,798 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,333,000 after purchasing an additional 35,872 shares in the last quarter. 77.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $60.00 to $59.00 in a report on Thursday, May 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, April 17th. UBS Group started coverage on Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, March 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, CFO Thomas J. Mireles sold 14,500 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.14, for a total transaction of $509,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 58,372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,051,192.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of MUR stock opened at $36.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 2.37. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $25.97 and a one year high of $51.28. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $36.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.95 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $841.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $777.23 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 30.08%. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was up 52.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.73 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is presently 13.63%.

About Murphy Oil

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Murphy Oil Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. It operates through the Exploration and Production and Corporate and Other segment. The Exploration and Production segment includes the United States, Canada, and all other countries. The Corporate and Other segment focuses on interest income, other gains and losses, interest expense, and unallocated overhead.