Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Acquired by HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 418.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 645,252 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 520,894 shares during the quarter. Murphy Oil makes up 1.4% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $19,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 353.2% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,358 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 2,617 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.77.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 3.6 %

MUR opened at $21.32 on Friday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $18.95 and a 12-month high of $46.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.45.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.10%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.52% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy Oil 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.