Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 96.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,396 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 468,875 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,217,000. Prospector Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 50.5% in the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 307,092 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,361,000 after purchasing an additional 103,092 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 605,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,431,000 after purchasing an additional 76,487 shares during the period. AXA S.A. raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 132,710 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,473,000 after purchasing an additional 61,537 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 14,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $29.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $27.75 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 2.17.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued 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 analysts’ expectations of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MUR shares. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 11th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.42.

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.