New York State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 6,052 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 201,312 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,052 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.14% of Murphy Oil worth $6,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings 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. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $113,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MUR shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.33.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MUR opened at $28.37 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $25.26 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54 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 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.99 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.58%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Company insiders own 5.95% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Company 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.