Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE decreased its stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 44.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 891,201 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 718,497 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 0.61% of Murphy Oil worth $26,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MUR. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 399.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,012,944 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,177,000 after buying an additional 810,104 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,881 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $238,000 after buying an additional 1,379 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 733,874 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $22,207,000 after purchasing an additional 61,157 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 6,835 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 11,467 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $347,000 after purchasing an additional 3,870 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $20.90. 1,493,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,207,064. The business has a 50-day moving average of $22.86 and a 200 day moving average of $27.30. Murphy Oil Co. has a fifty-two week low of $18.95 and a fifty-two week high of $43.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a PE ratio of 7.77 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. The business had revenue of $665.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $684.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.22%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Mizuho downgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $29.23.

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.