Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Stake Reduced by Poplar Forest Capital LLC

Poplar Forest Capital LLC cut its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 27.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 330,411 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 128,167 shares during the quarter. Murphy Oil comprises about 2.1% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Poplar Forest Capital LLC owned 0.21% of Murphy Oil worth $14,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth about $70,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $163,000. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,589.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Murphy Oil news, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 9,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $379,589.76. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 40,590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,759,576.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 156,260 shares of company stock valued at $6,322,644 over the last 90 days. 5.95% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays initiated coverage on Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut Murphy Oil from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $50.64.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MUR traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $46.22. The stock had a trading volume of 986,465 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,817,354. The company has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 2.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $43.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.65. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $32.80 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $844.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $852.24 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 19.12% and a return on equity of 13.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 28.44%.

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.