Truist Financial Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,331 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 1,047 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $252,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in Murphy Oil by 90.1% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,758 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at $113,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth about $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.38.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR opened at $24.08 on Thursday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 2.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.40%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

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.