Prospector Partners LLC Raises Stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Prospector Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 50.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 307,092 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 103,092 shares during the quarter. Prospector Partners LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $10,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 26.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after buying an additional 14,181 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 605,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $20,431,000 after buying an additional 76,487 shares in the last quarter. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 20.7% in the third quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 193,060 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,514,000 after purchasing an additional 33,080 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 130.5% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 118,519 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,999,000 after buying an additional 67,105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 187,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,312,000 after acquiring an additional 108,672 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MUR. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.92.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $33.12 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.41. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $30.99 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 2.21.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The firm had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

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.