Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 1,379 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,881 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,758 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.58.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $32.22 on Friday. Murphy Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.75 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. The company has a market cap of $4.70 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.68.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.