Commerce Bank Purchases 3,763 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 34.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,843 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,763 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 106.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE MUR opened at $32.43 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $30.99 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $4.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 2.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $33.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.41.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.74 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the topic of a number of research reports. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.92.

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.