Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Purchases 115,615 Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation by 34.2%, acquiring an additional 115,615 shares, bringing its total ownership to 453,384 shares valued at approximately $12.9 million.
• Murphy Oil reported an EPS of $0.27 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and generating revenue of $695.57 million, although year-over-year revenue experienced a decline of 13.4%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 5.6%, with a payout ratio of 67.36%.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 34.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 453,384 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after buying an additional 115,615 shares during the quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.32% of Murphy Oil worth $12,876,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter valued at $44,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings 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 valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 1,104 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.0%

Murphy Oil stock traded up $0.00 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $23.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,467,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,921,499. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05 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. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $39.46. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.31.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The firm had revenue of $695.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $632.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The company's revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $32.00 price target (up from $30.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Mizuho cut shares of Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.69.

Murphy Oil 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.