Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 600,000 Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 600,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $19,536,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MUR. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,745,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Murphy Oil by 24.8% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 942,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $38,896,000 after buying an additional 187,610 shares during the period. Flax Pond Capital LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,967,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 627.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 119,206 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $4,917,000 after buying an additional 102,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,171,385 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $337,081,000 after buying an additional 238,326 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 3.8%

NYSE:MUR opened at $36.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.82 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $35.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.71. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 12-month low of $24.31 and a 12-month high of $43.34.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%.The company had revenue of $926.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $888.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.77 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MUR shares. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lowered shares of Murphy Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.58.

Murphy Oil Company 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.