49,981 Shares in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC acquired 49,981 Murphy Oil shares worth approximately $1.63 million, while other investment firms also increased their positions. Institutional investors collectively own 78.31% of MUR.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $37.25 after several firms lowered targets; ratings include three Buys, ten Holds and three Sells.
• Murphy Oil reported quarterly revenue of $926.3 million, up 33.5% year over year, but earnings of $1.55 per share narrowly missed estimates. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.35, or a 3.8% annualized yield.

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 49,981 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $1,627,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.6% during the first quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 10,954 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $452,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,118 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $347,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,662 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Finally, Greenwich Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 20,584 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MUR shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Mizuho raised Murphy Oil to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $37.25.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

MUR opened at $37.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $35.71 and a 200-day moving average of $36.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.85. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 1-year low of $24.49 and a 1-year high of $43.34.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $926.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.51 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 69.31%.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company's operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil's exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.

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