Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 2,713 Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 0.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 317,879 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,713 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.22% of Murphy Oil worth $9,028,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MUR. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Murphy Oil by 177.8% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,725 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from an “accumulate” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.46.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE MUR opened at $25.95 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $22.97 and its 200 day moving average is $25.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.95 and a 12 month high of $43.02. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 1.09.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.81% and a net margin of 13.47%. The company had revenue of $665.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $684.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.