Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 156,751 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 32.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 329,370 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 156,751 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Murphy Oil worth $11,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,434.5% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock opened at $28.66 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $27.75 and a 52-week high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.19%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $39.58.

About Murphy Oil

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.