Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 156,751 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 329,370 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 156,751 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $11,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,254,125 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $340,400,000 after acquiring an additional 262,256 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 7.7% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,737,409 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $125,100,000 after buying an additional 195,906 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,138,985 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $88,212,000 after purchasing an additional 107,462 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 3,191.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,627,268 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $54,904,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 90.5% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,092,374 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $45,050,000 after purchasing an additional 518,904 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock opened at $32.50 on Monday. 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 market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 2.21. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $30.99 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $33.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.90.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. Murphy Oil’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MUR. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $39.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 27th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.08.

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.