Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 177,024 Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,535,061 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 177,024 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Murphy Oil worth $412,941,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.3% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 39.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 693 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 494.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 2,317 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 437.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 11.1% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 5,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.2%

NYSE MUR opened at $31.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.31 and a beta of 0.78. Murphy Oil Corporation has a one year low of $18.94 and a one year high of $35.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.48.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.21. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.75%. The company had revenue of $613.08 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $650.90 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Murphy Oil’s quarterly revenue was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. This is a positive change from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 194.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MUR shares. Zacks Research lowered Murphy Oil from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $29.42.

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.