Renaissance Technologies LLC Has $3.27 Million Stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 74.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 108,100 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 46,000 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.07% of Murphy Oil worth $3,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Finally, New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $113,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 6.52% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.23.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE:MUR traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.08. 1,937,997 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,087,346. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.84 and a beta of 1.68. Murphy Oil Co. has a twelve month low of $18.95 and a twelve month high of $46.91. 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

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.