Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Has $1.84 Million Stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,053 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,905 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,837,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 164,568 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $7,020,000 after buying an additional 17,556 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 10,562 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth $163,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 122,988 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,247,000 after purchasing an additional 22,372 shares during the period. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,570 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE MUR opened at $44.75 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $42.57. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $32.80 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 2.22.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The company had revenue of $794.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $750.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.68%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $46.00 to $50.00 in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.64.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In related news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 40,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,759,576.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 40,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,759,576.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paul D. Vaughan sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.61, for a total value of $237,660.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,877 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,447.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644. 5.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy Oil Company 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.