Kentucky Retirement Systems Buys Shares of 14,511 Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Kentucky Retirement Systems purchased a new position in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 14,511 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $599,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 10,954 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the period. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,662 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR opened at $39.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a PE ratio of 67.38 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $36.22 and a 200-day moving average of $36.15. Murphy Oil Corporation has a one year low of $21.86 and a one year high of $43.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $702.96 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MUR. Barclays upped their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.33.

Murphy Oil 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.