Foster & Motley Inc. Makes New Investment in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,057 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $718,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 14,700.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $36.84 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.48. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 0.50. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 12 month low of $21.86 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.51 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MUR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho raised Murphy Oil to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $44.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.