Mackenzie Financial Corp Increases Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 382,642 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,476 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.26% of Murphy Oil worth $11,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MUR. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,576 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 227,680 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $6,890,000 after acquiring an additional 34,620 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $56,214,000 after acquiring an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $618,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $678,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MUR shares. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, April 21st. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $29.23.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR stock opened at $21.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.06 billion, a PE ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.10. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $18.95 and a 12-month high of $43.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.09.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $665.71 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $684.89 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.06%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

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.