Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 12.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 211,153 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 30,789 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $6,599,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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 worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. 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 worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 437.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its position in Murphy Oil by 245.4% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,677 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 3,323 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total value of $1,598,942.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MUR. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy Oil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Johnson Rice upgraded Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to an “accumulate” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded Murphy Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $41.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.75.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 3.3%

MUR opened at $38.64 on Friday. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52 week low of $21.86 and a 52 week high of $43.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.96. The firm has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.49 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.09% and a net margin of 3.02%.The business had revenue of $732.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $702.96 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 237.29%.

Key Stories Impacting Murphy Oil

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple earnings forecasts for Murphy Oil, including FY2026, FY2027, and several quarterly periods, suggesting analysts see improving profitability ahead. Article: Why Murphy Oil (MUR) is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Murphy Oil’s post-earnings momentum remains constructive, with one report noting the stock has gained since its last earnings release and questioning whether that strength can continue. Article: Murphy Oil (MUR) Up 4.4% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha highlighted that Wall Street is increasingly catching on to Murphy Oil’s story, which may be supporting investor interest in the name. Article: Murphy Oil: Wall Street Catches On
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is split: Zacks Research and KeyCorp both kept neutral-to-bullish ratings overall, but they made mixed changes to future EPS estimates, signaling uncertainty about the pace of earnings growth.
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp trimmed its Q2 and Q3 2027 EPS estimates for Murphy Oil, which may be tempering enthusiasm despite its Overweight rating and $48 price target.

About Murphy Oil

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.