Aigen Investment Management LP Cuts Position in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP reduced its holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation by 46.1%, owning 13,581 shares worth $386,000 after selling 11,598 shares in the first quarter.
• Murphy Oil reported earnings per share of $0.27 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.21, despite a 13.4% decline in revenue compared to the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, which will be paid on September 2nd, translating to a 5.6% annual yield.

Aigen Investment Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 46.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,581 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 11,598 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,710.9% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,666 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 177.8% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,725 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MUR shares. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $26.00 target price (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group set a $24.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho cut shares of Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, April 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.69.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,897,261 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,345,485. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.94 and a 12-month high of $39.46. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $24.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.23.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.06. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The business had revenue of $695.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Murphy Oil's revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 67.36%.

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.