Baron Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Key Points

• Baron Wealth Management LLC invested approximately $223,000 in Murphy Oil Corporation, acquiring 9,895 shares in the second quarter of the year.
• Murphy Oil reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.27 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations of $0.21, despite a 13.4% year-over-year decline in revenue.
• The company's quarterly dividend of $0.325 represents an annualized yield of 4.8%, with a payout ratio of 67.36%.

Baron Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 9,895 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MUR. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 3,989.7% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,186 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth $44,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1,710.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings 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 valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $26.00 price target (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Murphy Oil from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $29.54.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of MUR stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,577,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,131,907. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $36.63. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 1.15. 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 50-day moving average is $24.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.84.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $695.57 million during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 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.