Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Shares Sold by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 47.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,355 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 13,187 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at $26,000. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth about $44,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 177.8% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,725 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 246.6% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,747 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 1,243 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, July 11th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, April 21st. Morgan Stanley cut 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, Mizuho lowered shares of Murphy Oil from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.69.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

NYSE MUR opened at $23.25 on Friday. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $39.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.27.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $695.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.51 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.6%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.36%.

Murphy Oil 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.