Alberta Investment Management Corp Has $6.19 Million Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 188.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 204,520 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 133,640 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned approximately 0.14% of Murphy Oil worth $6,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. CWM LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 92.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,266 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Murphy Oil by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 41,014 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 4,122 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Murphy Oil by 16.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 142,138 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 20,396 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3,191.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,627,268 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $54,904,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,831 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MUR. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.33.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $28.37 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 2.14. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $25.26 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results 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 prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is an increase 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 yield of 4.58%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 44.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 5.95% of the company’s stock.

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.