Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 315,166 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 14,204 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Murphy Oil worth $9,537,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.5% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,529 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 8.1% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,574 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

MUR stock opened at $26.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $29.39 and a 200-day moving average of $32.30. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $25.26 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 2.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.91%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler lowered 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. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.38.

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.