Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,392 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $678,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $113,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,000. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,337 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the last quarter. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at about $200,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MUR. Barclays decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.31.

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Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $28.33. The company had a trading volume of 2,335,416 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,789,231. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $27.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.53 and a beta of 2.18. Murphy Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $22.90 and a twelve month high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 posted $0.90 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

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.