Prospector Partners LLC Takes $8.41 Million Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Prospector Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 204,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $8,413,000. Prospector Partners LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Murphy Oil at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Duality Advisers LP increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 364.6% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 113,451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,185,000 after purchasing an additional 89,032 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 138.8% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 29,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 17,265 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 280.0% in 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 last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $16,349,000. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $298,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MUR shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.00.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MUR stock opened at $35.62 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $37.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 9.92 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $33.15 and a 1-year high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The business had revenue of $802.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $813.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.79 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.43%.

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.