Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Stock Holdings Decreased by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 89,188 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 2,145 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Murphy Oil worth $3,165,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 5.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 121,742 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $5,021,000 after buying an additional 6,341 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in 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 worth $88,212,000 after acquiring an additional 107,462 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 213,912 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $8,822,000 after acquiring an additional 9,670 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 35,041 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,603 shares during the period. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.5% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 66,777 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $2,754,000 after purchasing an additional 2,902 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MUR stock opened at $28.74 on Thursday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $27.75 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The company has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $31.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.64.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.74 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 14.78% and a return on equity of 9.22%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 38.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MUR. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $36.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $39.58.

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.