Yousif Capital Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 51,029 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,727 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Willis Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Willis Investment Counsel now owns 246,879 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,471,000 after buying an additional 1,780 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $113,000. EMC Capital Management increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 628.0% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,008 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 6,908 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 11,467 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 3,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 59.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,835 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.33.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 3.6 %

NYSE:MUR opened at $27.71 on Thursday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $25.26 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 2.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm earned $0.90 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.21 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil 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.