Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Sets New 1-Year High After Dividend Announcement

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $48.82 and last traded at $48.64, with a volume of 86179 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.37.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUR has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Mizuho reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $53.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $43.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.36.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 2.21. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $844.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $852.24 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 19.12%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.33 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 40,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,759,576.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $237,660.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,447.97. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 40,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,759,576.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 156,260 shares of company stock valued at $6,322,644. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 6.7% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 20,543 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $939,000 after acquiring an additional 1,285 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $238,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 9,656 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 744 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 280.0% during the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 72,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $3,080,000 after buying an additional 53,201 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 12,309 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $525,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.