Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Buys 2,029,685 Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Key Points

• Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation by 72.9%, acquiring over 2 million shares to bring its total shares to approximately 4.81 million, valued at $136.67 million.
• Murphy Oil reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.27 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, although revenue decreased 13.4% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.325 with a dividend yield of 5.4%, set to be paid in September.

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 72.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,812,267 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,029,685 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 3.37% of Murphy Oil worth $136,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Riverview Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital cut shares of Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the company from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $29.69.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 0.5%

Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $24.54. 632,243 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,859,146. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.03. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $38.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last posted 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 return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 10.20%.Murphy Oil's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.3%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.36%.

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.