Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Director Claiborne P. Deming Acquires 50,000 Shares

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock opened at $26.27 on Friday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $25.26 and a 1 year high of $49.14. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.46. The company has a market capitalization of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.61%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at $42,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on MUR shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Mizuho reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.33.

About Murphy Oil

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.