Voya Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Voya Investment Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 21.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 273,793 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 72,743 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $7,778,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 148.1% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,273 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Murphy Oil by 39.7% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,440 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 693 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 494.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,786 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 2,317 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 437.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 2nd quarter valued at about $100,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of MUR opened at $31.35 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $34.52. The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.98 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $30.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Monday, March 21st. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.09) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $440.08 million for the quarter. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 5.16% and a return on equity of 4.30%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 132.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MUR shares. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Murphy Oil from $26.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $29.08.

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.