Invesco Ltd. Acquires 37,753 Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation by 2.6%, owning approximately 1.46 million shares worth $41.56 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Murphy Oil has received mixed reviews from analysts, with current ratings being primarily "hold" and a consensus target price of $29.69.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.325, resulting in an annualized yield of 5.8%, with a payout ratio of 67.36%.

Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,463,459 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 37,753 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 1.03% of Murphy Oil worth $41,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,576 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,503 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 74.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 108,100 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 46,000 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,846,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 830.2% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 4,614 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 28,585 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,508,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,885,978. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.94 and a 1-year high of $39.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $24.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 1.13.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.06. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The company had revenue of $695.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is currently 67.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Johnson Rice downgraded Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $24.00 price target on Murphy Oil and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has 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 presently has a consensus 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.