22,392 Shares in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Acquired by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 22,392 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $113,000. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at $200,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $188,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MUR opened at $25.40 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 2.18. Murphy Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.90 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14. 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 (NYSE:MUR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.12%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost 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 approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MUR shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $36.31.

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.