Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 329,370 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 156,751 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Murphy Oil worth $11,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Mather Group LLC. grew its position 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,434.5% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $42.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $40.92.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MUR traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $32.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,541,578 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,664,160. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $30.99 and a 1-year high of $49.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.90. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 2.21.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced 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). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $758.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.71%.

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.