AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 288,874 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 39.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,019,825 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 288,874 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.70% of Murphy Oil worth $30,646,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MUR traded up $0.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $21.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,084,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,152,972. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.03 and a beta of 1.10. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $18.95 and a 1-year high of $45.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $23.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.05.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $665.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $684.89 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. The firm's revenue was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 48.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.08.

About Murphy Oil

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.