Element Capital Management LLC Purchases Shares of 96,166 Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil Corporation, purchasing 96,166 shares valued at approximately $2.73 million, representing 0.07% ownership as of the most recent quarter.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in Murphy Oil, with notable increases including Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. growing its stake by 7,070.1%.
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of "Hold" for Murphy Oil shares, with a current average target price of $29.69.

Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 96,166 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $2,731,000. Element Capital Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Murphy Oil as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,060 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Mustard Seed Financial LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC now owns 17,861 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 17,367 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $493,000 after purchasing an additional 532 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 68,023 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 777 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,838 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded down $0.25 on Tuesday, hitting $22.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,623,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,899,502. The company has a market capitalization of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. 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 simple moving average of $24.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.14.

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

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.9%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is presently 67.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Johnson Rice cut Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 price target on Murphy Oil and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Roth Capital lowered Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $29.69.

About Murphy Oil

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.