Willis Investment Counsel Grows Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Willis Investment Counsel grew its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 245,099 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,438 shares during the period. Willis Investment Counsel owned about 0.16% of Murphy Oil worth $8,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MUR. Duality Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 364.6% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 113,451 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $5,185,000 after purchasing an additional 89,032 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 29,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 17,265 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,642 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $1,022,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 166,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $6,859,000 after purchasing an additional 32,411 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $35.91 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $35.91 and a 200 day moving average of $40.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.00 and a beta of 2.20. Murphy Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $32.53 and a fifty-two week high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 17.32% and a return on equity of 11.68%. The company had revenue of $802.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $813.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. Murphy Oil’s revenue was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MUR shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $41.58.

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.