Black Maple Capital Management LP Acquires Shares of 26,000 Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Black Maple Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 26,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $787,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management grew its position in Murphy Oil by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,807,277 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $84,948,000 after buying an additional 114,656 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,234,585 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $67,619,000 after acquiring an additional 107,871 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 61.9% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,147,590 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $64,986,000 after purchasing an additional 821,427 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $56,214,000 after purchasing an additional 13,263 shares during the period. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its position in Murphy Oil by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,751,737 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $53,008,000 after purchasing an additional 837,282 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MUR shares. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price target on Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Murphy Oil from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $24.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.23.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $21.76 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09 and a beta of 1.68. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $18.95 and a 12-month high of $45.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.36.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.97%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In other news, Director Claiborne P. Deming acquired 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu bought 1,573 shares of Murphy Oil stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 6.52% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.