Simmons Bank Grows Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Simmons Bank grew its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 491.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,406 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 25,265 shares during the period. Simmons Bank's holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,026,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MUR. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the first quarter worth approximately $1,022,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 97.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,212 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $741,000 after buying an additional 7,985 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 383,228 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $17,514,000 after buying an additional 6,948 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,642 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 51,998 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,376,000 after acquiring an additional 3,608 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Mizuho dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $41.08.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MUR traded up $0.88 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $33.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,792,179 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,666,621. The stock has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.47 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $30.99 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.12.

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). 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 last year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. 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.