Stephens Inc. AR Has $4.11 Million Stock Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Stephens Inc. AR decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 135,837 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 33,229 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR owned approximately 0.09% of Murphy Oil worth $4,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,143 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy Oil

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on MUR. Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $31.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $36.33.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,325,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,611,103. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $25.26 and a one year high of $49.14. The firm has a market cap of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.52 and a beta of 2.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $29.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.94.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. 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 currently 44.61%.

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.