Simmons Bank Has $1.32 Million Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Simmons Bank increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 43,668 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 13,262 shares during the quarter. Simmons Bank's holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MUR. Covestor Ltd grew its position in Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Murphy Oil by 90.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,758 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 833 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at about $113,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other Murphy Oil news, Director Claiborne P. Deming bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average price of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Truist Financial cut 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 research note on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $36.38.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.9 %

NYSE MUR traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.48. 2,485,465 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,636,071. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.19. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $25.26 and a 1 year high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 48.33%.

Murphy Oil 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.