Legal & General Group Plc Lowers Stock Holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc cut its Murphy Oil stake by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 211,153 shares valued at about $6.6 million.
• Murphy Oil reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.32 versus a $0.29 estimate and revenue of $732.35 million, up 9% year over year.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 3.6%, while analysts currently hold a consensus Hold rating with a $37.75 price target.

Legal & General Group Plc lowered its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 12.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 211,153 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 30,789 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.15% of Murphy Oil worth $6,599,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MUR. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 1.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 84,061 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth approximately $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 22.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 249,094 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $7,074,000 after purchasing an additional 45,841 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 9.8% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,471 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 2,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 437.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy Oil

In related news, SVP Daniel R. Hanchera sold 47,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.79, for a total value of $1,598,942.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 36,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,222,049.14. This trade represents a 56.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.79% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $38.64 on Friday. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 12 month low of $21.86 and a 12 month high of $43.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 65.49 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.96.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 3.09% and a net margin of 3.02%.The firm had revenue of $732.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $702.96 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.56 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 237.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on MUR. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Scotiabank reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on Murphy Oil from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Johnson Rice raised Murphy Oil from a "hold" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.75.

Key Stories Impacting Murphy Oil

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy Oil this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised multiple earnings forecasts for Murphy Oil, including FY2026, FY2027, and several quarterly periods, suggesting analysts see improving profitability ahead. Article: Why Murphy Oil (MUR) is a Top Momentum Stock for the Long-Term
• Positive Sentiment: Murphy Oil’s post-earnings momentum remains constructive, with one report noting the stock has gained since its last earnings release and questioning whether that strength can continue. Article: Murphy Oil (MUR) Up 4.4% Since Last Earnings Report: Can It Continue?
• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha highlighted that Wall Street is increasingly catching on to Murphy Oil’s story, which may be supporting investor interest in the name. Article: Murphy Oil: Wall Street Catches On
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary is split: Zacks Research and KeyCorp both kept neutral-to-bullish ratings overall, but they made mixed changes to future EPS estimates, signaling uncertainty about the pace of earnings growth.
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp trimmed its Q2 and Q3 2027 EPS estimates for Murphy Oil, which may be tempering enthusiasm despite its Overweight rating and $48 price target.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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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