11,161 Shares in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Acquired by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 11,161 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $338,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 80.5% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 337,769 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,221,000 after acquiring an additional 150,684 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 12,805 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $387,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,926 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $3,846,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE MUR opened at $26.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $22.90 and a 1-year high of $49.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its 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 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase 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 4.86%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. This trade 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 insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.46.

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.