Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases 254,675 Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 351.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 327,156 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after buying an additional 254,675 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $10,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 440 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 72.9% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 717 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 437.8% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 245.4% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,677 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 3,323 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $38.59 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52-week low of $21.86 and a 52-week high of $43.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.03 and a 200 day moving average of $35.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.53 billion, a PE ratio of 65.41 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83.

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

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 237.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MUR. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy Oil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Roth Mkm reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.75.

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.