Insider Buying: Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) VP Acquires 1,573 Shares of Stock

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 37,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of MUR stock opened at $26.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $25.26 and a 1 year high of $49.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 2.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.33 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.85%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MUR shares. Truist Financial lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.33.

Institutional Trading of Murphy Oil

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake 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 during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.