PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,542 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 959 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $833,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at $113,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $188,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Truist Financial cut Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.46.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR stock opened at $26.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 2.18. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $28.36 and its 200 day moving average is $31.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It explores for and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. The company was formerly known as Murphy Corporation and changed its name to Murphy Oil Corporation in 1964.