41,200 Shares in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Purchased by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 41,200 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,758,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 1.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 22,125 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.2% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 7,527 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $288,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co NY now owns 9,048 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the period. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 4.1% in the first quarter. Wetherby Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,436 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $312,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. Finally, Snowden Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.6% in the first quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,661 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $45.21 on Friday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $32.80 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The stock has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71 and a beta of 2.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.90 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.10). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 13.02% and a net margin of 19.12%. The firm had revenue of $844.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $852.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 40,590 shares in the company, valued at $1,759,576.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Murphy Oil news, VP Maria A. Martinez sold 10,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.35, for a total value of $433,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 40,590 shares in the company, valued at $1,759,576.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Louis W. Utsch sold 30,260 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $1,208,584.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 9,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $379,589.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 156,260 shares of company stock worth $6,322,644. 5.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MUR. Mizuho lifted their target price on Murphy Oil from $53.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank downgraded Murphy Oil from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays started coverage on Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Murphy Oil from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

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.