Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 56.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 58,965 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 75,224 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,989,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 106.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE MUR opened at $32.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 2.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $33.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.30. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $30.99 and a 12 month high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 9.22% and a net margin of 14.78%. The company had revenue of $758.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $759.74 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 21.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.92.

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.