Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 19.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,269 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,036 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 47.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 721 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Murphy Oil by 27.0% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 14.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 1.1 %

MUR opened at $38.67 on Tuesday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $35.61 and a 52 week high of $49.14. The company has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 2.25. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 11.75% and a net margin of 16.40%. The firm had revenue of $802.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $813.97 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.79 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MUR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Murphy Oil from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $47.00 in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Mizuho upped their target price on Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.91.

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.