Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Director Claiborne P. Deming Acquires 50,000 Shares

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $26.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.46. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 2.14. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $25.26 and a 52-week high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.95%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 44.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MUR shares. Mizuho lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUR. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Murphy Oil

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.