Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 787,897 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 132,234 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.54% of Murphy Oil worth $26,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 138.8% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 29,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,357,000 after buying an additional 17,265 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 218,739 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $9,021,000 after acquiring an additional 38,334 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 24.2% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 166,316 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $6,859,000 after acquiring an additional 32,411 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,700,000. Finally, AXA S.A. lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 86.5% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 132,710 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $5,473,000 after acquiring an additional 61,537 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR traded up $0.79 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $33.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,541,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,161. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $30.99 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.82. The company has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 2.21.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.92.

Murphy Oil 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.