Barclays PLC reduced its stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR – Get Rating) by 66.3% during the third quarter, according to its latest disclosure to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor held 43,964 shares of the oil and gas producer after selling 86,376 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,546,000 when it last filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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A number of other major investors have also recently changed their stances in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 5.8% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 172,990 shares of the oil and gas producer valued at $6,084,000 after buying an additional 9,555 shares last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.9% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 160,503 shares of the oil and gas producer valued at $5,645,000 after buying an additional 4,583 shares last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth $1,612,000. The NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan increased its stake in Murphy Oil stock by 53.3% in the third quarter. The NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan now owns 27,600 shares of the oil and gas producer worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 9,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 23,269 shares of the oil and gas producer valued at $818,000 after buying 757 additional shares last quarter. 77.55% of the shares are held by institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Murphy Oil
Separately, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 150,000 shares of the company in a transaction that took place on Friday, November 11. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.52, for a total transaction of $7,578,000.00. Following completion of the transaction, the CEO now owns 664,664 shares of the company, valued at $33,578,825.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available via this hyperlink. Separately, CEO Roger W. Jenkins sold 150,000 shares of the company in a transaction that took place on Friday, November 11. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.52, for a total transaction of $7,578,000.00. Following completion of the transaction, the CEO now owns 664,664 shares of the company, valued at $33,578,825.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available via this hyperlink. Additionally, Vice Chairman Paul D. Vaughan sold 1,254 shares of the company in a trade that took place on Wednesday, November 9. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.34, for a total transaction of $58,110.36. As a result of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 9,910 shares of the company, valued at approximately $459,229.40. The disclosure of this sale can be found here. In the past 90 days, insiders have sold 210,754 shares of the company valued at $10,615,495. Company insiders own 6.20% of the company’s shares.
Analysts set new price targets
A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock recently. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage of Murphy Oil shares in a Wednesday, October 19 research report. They have set a “holding” rating and a price target of $46.00 on the stock. Truist Financial raised its price target on Murphy Oil shares from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “holding” rating in a Tuesday, January 24 research report. Goldman Sachs Group raised its price target on Murphy Oil shares from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 23. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a price target of $56.00 for the stock in a Monday research report 5 December. Finally, Piper Sandler raised her price target on Murphy Oil shares from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a Thursday, November 17 research report. Six equity research analysts gave the stock a hold rating and four gave the stock a buy rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.00.
Murphy’s Oil Price Performance
MUR opened at $41.63 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a price-earnings ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 2.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt ratio of 0.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $42.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.22. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $25.97 and a 12-month high of $51.28.
Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR – Get Rating) last released its results on Thursday, January 26. The oil and gas producer reported earnings per share of $1.10 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 per ($0.08). The company posted revenue of $975.20 million in the quarter, compared to $835.62 million expected by analysts. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 18.82% and a net margin of 24.54%. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter increased 32.0% year over year. In the same quarter of the previous year, the company achieved EPS of $0.40. Equity analysts expect Murphy Oil Co. to post EPS of 6.56 for the current year.
Murphy Oil increases its dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 1. Investors of record on Monday, February 13 will receive a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-date of this dividend is Friday, February 10. This represents an annualized dividend of $1.10 and a yield of 2.64%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 17.97%.
Murphy Oil Profile
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Murphy Oil Corp. is a holding company engaged in the exploration and production of petroleum and natural gas. It operates through Exploration and Production and Corporate and Others segment. The Exploration and Production segment includes the United States, Canada and all other countries. The Corporate and Others segment focuses on interest income, other gains and losses, interest expense and unallocated overhead.
See also
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