Castleark Management LLC Has $339,000 Stock Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Castleark Management LLC trimmed its position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 80.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,060 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 41,760 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC's holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 16.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 8.1% during 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, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MUR. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective 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. Barclays decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.92.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 5.2 %

MUR stock traded down $1.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $29.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,089,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,451,064. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.73. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $29.84 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. Murphy Oil's quarterly revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is currently 38.71%.

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.