HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Acquires 520,894 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 418.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 645,252 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 520,894 shares during the quarter. Murphy Oil accounts for approximately 1.4% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Murphy Oil worth $19,525,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Foundry Partners LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 227,680 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,890,000 after purchasing an additional 34,620 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Murphy Oil by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $56,214,000 after purchasing an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $618,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $678,000. Finally, Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,230,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.77.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 2.2 %

NYSE MUR traded down $0.47 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $20.90. 2,405,954 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,056,346. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $18.95 and a one year high of $46.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.68.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the acquisition, 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. 6.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.