Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stock Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 290,935 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 13,454 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.20% of Murphy Oil worth $8,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth approximately $113,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,337 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MUR. Mizuho dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Truist Financial cut shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on 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 issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $33.15.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE MUR traded down $0.28 during trading on Monday, reaching $20.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,997,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,020,259. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $18.95 and a 12 month high of $47.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 1.68. The company's fifty day moving average price is $26.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.76.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 48.33%.

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.