CSM Advisors LLC Increases Position in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

CSM Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 233,510 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 48,856 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC owned 0.16% of Murphy Oil worth $6,634,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 693 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 437.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares during the period. Strs Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 11.1% during the third 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 period. Finally, MAI Capital Management boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 11.9% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 5,723 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In related news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total transaction of $1,598,942.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 36,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,222,049.14. This trade represents a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 6.52% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 5.9%

Shares of MUR stock opened at $36.78 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $32.61 and a 200 day moving average of $30.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $5.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.09 and a beta of 0.72. Murphy Oil Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $36.90.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. The business had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.73% and a net margin of 3.83%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 194.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Scotiabank restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.45.

Murphy Oil News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy Oil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Crude rally / Middle East supply-risk premium: Oil prices have stayed elevated amid renewed geopolitical risk in the Middle East, prompting a rotation into upstream names. Murphy’s cash flows are closely tied to crude, so the stock typically amplifies moves in oil. Murphy Oil jumps as crude stays elevated
• Positive Sentiment: Piper Sandler upgrade: Piper Sandler upgraded Murphy to an overweight/buy on rising oil prices, which can attract demand from model-driven and institutional buyers. Piper Sandler upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised rating to equal-weight and lifted its target to $33, trimming a prior underweight stance — a modest vote of confidence that supports the stock in the current oil-driven rally. Barclays upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target to $33 recently and other analysts (e.g., Piper Sandler) have lifted targets — analyst support combined with higher oil tends to boost sentiment. Goldman Sachs price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: Murphy recently raised its quarterly dividend (latest $0.35), which improves income appeal and can provide support during sector upswings. MarketBeat: dividend and company summary
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed institutional flows: Large funds show both meaningful additions (FMR added millions of shares) and sizable reductions from others; this churn can amplify intraday moves but is ambiguous for longer-term direction. QuiverQuant: institutional & hedge fund activity
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: SVP Daniel Hanchera sold 47,320 shares (~$1.6M) in early March and reduced his holding materially; large insider sales can create near-term selling pressure or raise governance questions for some investors. SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst consensus / targets still mixed and average targets remain below the current share price: while a few firms raised targets, the median analyst target is around the low $30s and several firms maintain hold/underweight ratings — a reminder of upside limits if oil cools. MarketBeat: analyst coverage & targets

Murphy Oil 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.