Graham Capital Management L.P. Invests $7.45 Million in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Key Points

• Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired 262,157 shares of Murphy Oil Corporation, valued at approximately $7.45 million, representing about 0.18% of the company.
• Murphy Oil Corporation reported earnings of $0.27 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, while its revenue was down 13.4% year-over-year at $695.57 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, with a dividend yield of 5.2%, and a payout ratio of 67.36% as of the latest reporting date.

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 262,157 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $7,445,000. Graham Capital Management L.P. owned 0.18% of Murphy Oil at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,060 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.9% in the first quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC now owns 17,861 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.2% during the first quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 17,367 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,838 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 3.4%

Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $25.01. The company had a trading volume of 2,912,544 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,190,704. The firm has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 1.15. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $36.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.92.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 10.20%.The firm had revenue of $695.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $632.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MUR shares. Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 price objective on Murphy Oil and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Barclays increased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Mizuho lowered Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $29.69.

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.