Gallacher Capital Management LLC Invests $254,000 in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 6,879 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 23,401 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth approximately $1,821,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth approximately $365,000. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth approximately $1,879,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 28,416 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,222,000 after purchasing an additional 674 shares during the period. 79.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy Oil news, VP John B. Gardner sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.95, for a total value of $429,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $854,490.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Murphy Oil news, VP John B. Gardner sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.95, for a total value of $429,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 19,895 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $854,490.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.30, for a total value of $4,330,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,499,831 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,942,682.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $46.47. 1,606,083 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,689,155. The stock has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.19 and a beta of 2.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $31.90 and a 12-month high of $51.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.95.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 3rd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $814.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $779.77 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 15.09% and a net margin of 25.86%. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 26.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 14th were given a $0.275 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 11th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MUR shares. UBS Group raised their target price on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 14th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $60.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Monday, July 24th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Murphy Oil from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.90.

Murphy Oil Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and natural 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.