Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR Stock Position Raised by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 669,407 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,889 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Murphy Oil worth $19,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 39.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 494.0% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 437.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the period. Strs Ohio lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 5,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $142,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 5,723 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 5.3%

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $32.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.64 and a beta of 0.78. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $35.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.71.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. The company had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.75% and a net margin of 3.83%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 180.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday. Zacks Research cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Tuesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $29.17.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.