59,186 Shares in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Bought by Magnetar Financial LLC

Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 59,186 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,441,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prospector Partners LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,413,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 23.7% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 62,513 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 11,970 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Murphy Oil by 21.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 134,189 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,533,000 after buying an additional 23,801 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 27.6% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 328,575 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $13,550,000 after buying an additional 71,000 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,120,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MUR. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank cut Murphy Oil from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR stock opened at $35.83 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $33.15 and a twelve month high of $49.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 2.21.

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

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 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.