Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Acquired by Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 108.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,529,528 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 794,730 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $46,284,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 26.7% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 14,181 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,033 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 3,516 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 59.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 34,032 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after buying an additional 12,745 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.3% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 2,627,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $88,659,000 after buying an additional 58,220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth $245,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $28.78 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $27.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.70 and a beta of 2.18. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $22.90 and a 52 week high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 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 last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 through the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MUR shares. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.92.

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.