Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR Shares Sold by Aventail Capital Group LP

Aventail Capital Group LP lessened its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 154,363 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 22,126 shares during the period. Aventail Capital Group LP owned approximately 0.11% of Murphy Oil worth $4,824,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 21.8% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,736,815 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $106,163,000 after acquiring an additional 668,525 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth $451,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 122,420 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,826,000 after acquiring an additional 29,689 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 26.5% during the third quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 233,510 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,634,000 after acquiring an additional 48,856 shares during the period. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth $3,372,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $35.25 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52-week low of $21.86 and a 52-week high of $43.34. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.75 and a beta of 0.50.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.09% and a net margin of 3.02%.The business had revenue of $732.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 237.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MUR shares. Barclays upped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Johnson Rice upgraded Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.75.

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.