Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Acquired by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 18.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,576 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Foundry Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 227,680 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,890,000 after purchasing an additional 34,620 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $56,214,000 after buying an additional 13,263 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $618,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $678,000. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,230,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MUR. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered Murphy Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.23.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR opened at $20.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $24.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.06. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $18.95 and a 52-week high of $46.91.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.32%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.52% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.