Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 2,727 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,029 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,727 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MUR. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth approximately $1,217,000. Prospector Partners LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 307,092 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,361,000 after buying an additional 103,092 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 76,487 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 26.7% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,268,000 after buying an additional 14,181 shares during the period. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at $796,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR stock opened at $27.71 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $25.26 and a one year high of $49.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 2.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 currently 44.61%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MUR. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.33.

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.