Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Bought by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 195,183 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 28,867 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. owned 0.13% of Murphy Oil worth $6,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Covestor Ltd grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Mizuho decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 12th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $41.08.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR traded down $0.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $32.60. The company's stock had a trading volume of 456,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,661,171. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.09. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $30.99 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. Murphy Oil's revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 38.71%.

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.