Foster & Motley Inc. Takes Position in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 22,057 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 84,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,387,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 249,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,074,000 after acquiring an additional 45,841 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 9.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,471 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,819 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 437.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 3,095 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $36.84 on Thursday. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52-week low of $21.86 and a 52-week high of $43.34. The stock has a fifty 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 (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%.The business had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. Murphy Oil’s revenue was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered Murphy Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $34.00 in a report on Friday, August 14th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.58.

Murphy Oil Company 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.