Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Stock Position Raised by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.27% of Murphy Oil worth $56,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,548,711 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $119,755,000 after purchasing an additional 45,432 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,627,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $88,659,000 after purchasing an additional 58,220 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,751,737 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,008,000 after acquiring an additional 837,282 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,260 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,824,000 after acquiring an additional 336,372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 1,043,950 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $35,223,000 after acquiring an additional 231,007 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $24.48 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $23.49 and a 1-year high of $49.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10 and a beta of 2.14. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.27 and its 200-day moving average is $32.06. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy Oil news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $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 the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following 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. 5.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MUR shares. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Truist Financial lowered Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.38.

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.