KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Takes $868,000 Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 28,700 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $868,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth $113,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at $188,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,337 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $192,000 after acquiring an additional 2,553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR traded down $2.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,667,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,917,297. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $22.03 and a 1-year high of $49.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.35 and a beta of 2.18. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.56.

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Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 period last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.75%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.92.

About Murphy Oil

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.