SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 32.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 122,420 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,689 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $3,826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 67.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,094 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 440 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 437.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 11.1% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 5,000 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 69.4% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,326 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 2,591 shares during the period. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth $204,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total transaction of $1,598,942.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 36,166 shares in the company, valued at $1,222,049.14. This trade represents a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 6.52% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MUR shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Murphy Oil from $32.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.36.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 3.8%

Murphy Oil stock opened at $41.04 on Friday. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $42.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $34.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.00 and a beta of 0.59.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $613.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $650.90 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.83% and a return on equity of 3.73%. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 194.44%.

Murphy Oil 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.