Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 19,530,000 shares, an increase of 19.8% from the February 13th total of 16,300,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 7.8 days. Currently, 14.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,881 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,769,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 11.8% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 382,642 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $11,579,000 after buying an additional 40,476 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,303,000. Finally, GTS Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 108.1% during the 4th quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 36,836 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 19,136 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 2.0 %

Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.12. The stock had a trading volume of 2,152,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,740,273. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.11. Murphy Oil has a twelve month low of $22.90 and a twelve month high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.325 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.98%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MUR. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.31.

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.