Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Position Increased by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 886,485.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 594,012 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 593,945 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.41% of Murphy Oil worth $17,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 25,069 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 19,916 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUR has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. KeyCorp decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $32.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $34.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This represents a 4.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 5.92% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $19.93 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $26.14 and its 200-day moving average is $29.88. The company has a market cap of $2.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $18.95 and a 52-week high of $48.64.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.52%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

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.