Quantbot Technologies LP Trims Stock Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Quantbot Technologies LP decreased its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 53.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 55,059 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 62,146 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased 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 acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $113,000. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth $188,000. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Murphy Oil by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,337 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 2,553 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MUR shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $37.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.31.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $27.30 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 2.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.86. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $22.90 and a 52-week high of $49.14. 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) 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This is a boost 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 4.76%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.33%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,660,801.97. The trade was 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.

Murphy Oil Company 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.