Swiss National Bank Reduces Stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Swiss National Bank cut its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 282,900 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.19% of Murphy Oil worth $9,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Covestor Ltd boosted its position 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 buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 106.5% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

MUR stock opened at $33.40 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.50. The company has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $30.99 and a 12-month high of $49.14.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The business had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $759.74 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.92.

Murphy Oil 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.