Twin Tree Management LP Makes New Investment in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 40,659 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth $1,217,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $56,214,000 after acquiring an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Prospector Partners LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 307,092 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $10,361,000 after acquiring an additional 103,092 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 605,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,431,000 after acquiring an additional 76,487 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $618,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE MUR opened at $26.12 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $22.90 and a twelve month high of $49.14. The company has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 2.18. The business’s fifty day moving average is $28.25 and its 200 day moving average is $31.11.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced 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 return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MUR. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.31.

Murphy Oil 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.