Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,938,182 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 216,181 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 5.44% of Murphy Oil worth $240,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 399.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,012,944 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $34,177,000 after purchasing an additional 810,104 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,595,260 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,824,000 after acquiring an additional 336,372 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,881 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 1,379 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $20.90 on Tuesday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $18.95 and a 1-year high of $46.91. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.68.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued 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 company earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 48.33%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MUR shares. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.77.

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.