Legal & General Group Plc Acquires Shares of 177,788 Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 177,788 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,789,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MUR. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 14,700.0% during the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 1.1%

MUR stock opened at $37.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.84. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.50. Murphy Oil Corporation has a twelve month low of $24.49 and a twelve month high of $43.34.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The company had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.51 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is presently 69.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Seaport Research Partners started coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.25.

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.