Man Group plc Buys Shares of 17,228 Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Man Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,228 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 2.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 10,954 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares during the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,662 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $37.27 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.71 and its 200-day moving average is $36.84. The company has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52-week low of $24.49 and a 52-week high of $43.34.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 9.74% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The company had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.25.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.