MML Investors Services LLC Purchases 1,618 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,282 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,618 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 266.8% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,434.5% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MUR. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Murphy Oil from $55.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, September 30th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $35.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $42.00 to $39.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $39.58.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $28.23 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 9.11 and a beta of 2.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $32.10 and a 200-day moving average of $35.99. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $27.75 and a 12 month high of $49.14.

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

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.25%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.71%.

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.