Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Purchases 212,100 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 23.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,132,305 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after purchasing an additional 212,100 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned 0.74% of Murphy Oil worth $51,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 3,904.6% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,090,904 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $89,198,000 after acquiring an additional 2,038,692 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,349,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at $12,988,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,861,968 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $335,397,000 after acquiring an additional 207,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at about $8,040,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays initiated coverage on Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Murphy Oil from $49.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Murphy Oil from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.00.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE MUR traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $41.55. 79,801 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,669,839. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.93. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $36.34 and a one year high of $49.14. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.06. The company has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 2.26.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The oil and gas producer reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $794.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $750.94 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 16.40% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

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.