Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Purchased by Poplar Forest Capital LLC

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 437,823 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 103,390 shares during the period. Murphy Oil accounts for approximately 2.0% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Poplar Forest Capital LLC owned approximately 0.30% of Murphy Oil worth $14,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,254,125 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $340,400,000 after buying an additional 262,256 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 7.7% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,737,409 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $125,100,000 after purchasing an additional 195,906 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 5.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,138,985 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $88,212,000 after purchasing an additional 107,462 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 3,191.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,627,268 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $54,904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,831 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 90.5% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,092,374 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $45,050,000 after purchasing an additional 518,904 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MUR. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $46.00 to $38.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.17.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MUR traded down $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $32.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,173,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,658,119. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.19 and a 200 day moving average of $38.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $30.99 and a 12-month high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.73 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.32%. The firm had revenue of $802.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $813.97 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Murphy Oil's revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.66%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.58%.

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.