Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation by 42.1%, owning approximately 0.13% of the company worth $4.3 million as of their latest SEC filing.
• Murphy Oil reported earnings of $0.27 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, with total revenue of $695.57 million for the quarter, although down 13.4% year-over-year.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, reflecting a 4.7% annual dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 67.36%.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 42.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 191,903 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 56,888 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned about 0.13% of Murphy Oil worth $4,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 287.0% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,134 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 8,257 shares during the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 5.6% during the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 348,267 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $9,891,000 after acquiring an additional 18,460 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the first quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 27.9% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 162,534 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 35,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its position in Murphy Oil by 4,974.8% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 14,514 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $412,000 after acquiring an additional 14,228 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:MUR traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $27.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,697,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,168,869. The company has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 14.01 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.83. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.94 and a 52 week high of $36.63. 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 (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $695.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $632.51 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 67.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MUR shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $29.54.

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.