Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.0% in the first quarter, adding 238,326 shares to bring its total holding to 8,171,385 shares, worth about $337.1 million.
• Murphy Oil reported better-than-expected first-quarter results, posting EPS of $0.32 versus the $0.29 estimate and revenue of $732.35 million, up 9% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment has turned more cautious: recent downgrades from Jefferies and Wall Street Zen left Murphy Oil with an overall Hold rating and a consensus price target of $38.33.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 3.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,171,385 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 238,326 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.70% of Murphy Oil worth $337,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Baron Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Murphy Oil by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,118 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in Murphy Oil by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $347,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,662 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,427,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,066 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 13,893 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $37.29 on Wednesday. Murphy Oil Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $21.86 and a fifty-two week high of $43.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $36.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.78. The company has a market cap of $5.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.21 and a beta of 0.52.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $732.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.96 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 3.09%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Johnson Rice upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a "hold" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $38.33.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company's operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil's exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.

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