Insider Buying: Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Director Acquires 50,000 Shares of Stock

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR traded up $1.26 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $28.08. 1,599,721 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,595,183. The stock's fifty day moving average is $30.10 and its 200 day moving average is $33.27. The stock has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.43 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $25.26 and a 1-year high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.63%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 44.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on MUR. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $34.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.33.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.5% in the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 10,529 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew 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 worth $129,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $759,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its stake 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake 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 buying an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

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.