LSV Asset Management Decreases Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

LSV Asset Management lessened its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,463,388 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 288,324 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 2.43% of Murphy Oil worth $98,395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 494.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 437.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 5,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $32.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.91. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $35.19.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.75%. The business had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $650.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 180.56%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MUR. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 23rd. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, December 29th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $29.42.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.