Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR Position Increased by AQR Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation by 111.6%, owning 2,157,707 shares valued at approximately $61.3 million as of the latest filing.
• Murphy Oil reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.27, exceeding the consensus estimate of $0.21, although its revenue decreased by 13.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.325, yielding 5.2% annually, with a dividend payout ratio of 67.36%.

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 111.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,157,707 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,137,882 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.51% of Murphy Oil worth $61,279,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in Murphy Oil by 3,989.7% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,186 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth about $44,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Murphy Oil by 1,710.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,666 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in Murphy Oil by 177.8% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,725 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $26.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Johnson Rice downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $29.69.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MUR traded up $0.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $25.31. 3,557,427 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,048,016. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.81. Murphy Oil Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.94 and a twelve month high of $36.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.1%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.