Twin Tree Management LP Buys Shares of 40,659 Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 40,659 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,230,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 60.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth $113,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at $188,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

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

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Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR traded down $0.11 on Friday, hitting $26.73. 14,859,323 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,779,877. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.88 and a 200-day moving average of $30.98. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $22.90 and a 12-month high of $49.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 2.18. 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 issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.325 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy Oil's previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock 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 three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $35.31.

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.