Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 45,432 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 1.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,548,711 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,432 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $119,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% during the third quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,434.5% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.9 %

MUR opened at $29.30 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $28.81 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $32.49 and a 200 day moving average of $36.20.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. Murphy Oil’s revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.58.

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.