CI Investments Inc. Sells 29,200 Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

CI Investments Inc. lowered its position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 47.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,065 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 29,200 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc.’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Murphy Oil by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 84,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,387,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at about $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 22.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 249,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $7,074,000 after acquiring an additional 45,841 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 2nd quarter worth about $304,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,782,051 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $40,096,000 after purchasing an additional 28,161 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 0.9%

NYSE MUR opened at $34.34 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 47.69 and a beta of 0.72. Murphy Oil Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $36.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.73% and a net margin of 3.83%.The company had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. Murphy Oil’s revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were 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 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 194.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. UBS Group upped their target price on Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $29.83.

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.