Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Trims Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 96.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,396 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 468,875 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $526,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,529 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 16.2% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,140 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 8.1% in the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 6,574 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.74 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.66. 1,771,340 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,023. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $31.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.29. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.57 and a beta of 2.17. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $27.75 and a 12-month high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The business had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.74 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $39.42.

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.