Ieq Capital LLC Purchases New Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,706 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 188.5% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 204,520 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,189,000 after buying an additional 133,640 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 815,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $24,672,000 after purchasing an additional 8,666 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $618,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Murphy Oil Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE MUR opened at $26.48 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $25.26 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.39 and a 200-day moving average of $32.30.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.38.

Murphy Oil 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.