Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) Trading Up 3.3% - Here's What Happened

Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) traded up 3.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $28.65 and last traded at $28.65. 212,721 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 2,938,729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.74.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.92.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

The company's 50-day simple moving average is $27.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.71. The company has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.57%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.