EMC Capital Management Has $242,000 Stock Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

EMC Capital Management grew its stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 628.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,008 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 6,908 shares during the quarter. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 11,467 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 3,870 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,835 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 2,559 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 733,874 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $22,207,000 after buying an additional 61,157 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 38,971 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 5,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $27.47 on Friday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $27.15 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.86 and a beta of 2.17. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $30.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.08.

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.