Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,330 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 14,700.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 72.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $36.84 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.57 and a 200 day moving average of $36.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 0.50. Murphy Oil Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $21.86 and a fifty-two week high of $43.34.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The business had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $888.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.27 EPS. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays lowered Murphy Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $34.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.58.

Murphy Oil Profile

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.