Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR Shares Sold by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Key Points

• Vaughan Nelson Investment Management cut its Murphy Oil stake by 21.6% in the first quarter, though it still held 1.58 million shares valued at about $65.3 million.
• Murphy Oil’s latest quarter beat expectations, with earnings of $0.32 per share versus the $0.29 estimate and revenue of $732.35 million, up 9% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed: several raised price targets and some upgraded the stock, but the overall consensus is still Hold with a $37.75 price target, while Murphy Oil also recently paid a $0.35 quarterly dividend for a 4.1% annualized yield.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. decreased its position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,582,227 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 435,765 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. owned about 1.10% of Murphy Oil worth $65,267,000 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 the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 84,061 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,387,000 after buying an additional 1,419 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the first quarter worth about $265,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 45,841 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 9.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,471 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 437.8% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,802 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Key Murphy Oil News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research lifted Murphy Oil’s earnings forecasts across multiple periods, including higher estimates for 2026, 2027, and 2028, which supports the outlook for future earnings growth.
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research kept a Hold rating on Murphy Oil, suggesting analysts are more constructive on earnings but not yet highly bullish on the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Murphy Oil is being pulled down with other energy names, indicating that sector sentiment is weighing on the shares more than company-specific fundamentals right now. APA Corporation, Murphy Oil, and Calumet stocks trade down, what you need to know

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MUR shares. Mizuho raised their price objective on Murphy Oil from $39.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. KeyCorp raised Murphy Oil from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $48.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Johnson Rice upgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a "hold" rating to an "accumulate" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $37.75.

Murphy Oil Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE:MUR opened at $34.24 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.03 and a beta of 0.50. Murphy Oil Corporation has a one year low of $21.86 and a one year high of $43.34. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.32 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $702.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.56 earnings per share. Murphy Oil's quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 237.29%.

Murphy Oil 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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