Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR Stock Holdings Lifted by Cadence Bank

Key Points

• Cadence Bank increased its holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation by 5.8%, now owning approximately 3.6% of the company's portfolio valued at $49.8 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including AlphaQuest LLC and EntryPoint Capital LLC, have significantly boosted their positions in Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter.
• Murphy Oil recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, translating to a 5.4% dividend yield for investors.

Cadence Bank increased its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 5.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,754,353 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 96,126 shares during the period. Murphy Oil comprises approximately 3.6% of Cadence Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Cadence Bank owned about 1.23% of Murphy Oil worth $49,824,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Murphy Oil by 3,989.7% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,186 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil during the first quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,710.9% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,666 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock traded down $0.12 on Thursday, hitting $24.54. 632,243 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,859,146. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.13. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 1 year low of $18.94 and a 1 year high of $38.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $695.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $632.51 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. The company's revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.3%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is 67.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Finally, Roth Capital lowered Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus target price of $29.69.

Murphy Oil Profile

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.