New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Acquires 41,892 Shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation by 40.3% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 41,892 shares for a total of 145,926 shares valued at approximately $4.14 million.
• Murphy Oil recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.325 per share, which amounts to an annualized yield of 5.5%, and the payout ratio stands at 50%.
• Recent analyst ratings indicate a consensus of "Hold" for Murphy Oil, with an average price target of $29.46 following changes in evaluations from several investment firms.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 40.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 145,926 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 41,892 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of Murphy Oil worth $4,144,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 342.8% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth about $26,000. GeoWealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 177.8% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,725 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR traded down $0.83 on Thursday, reaching $22.80. 5,793,206 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,129,000. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $24.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52-week low of $18.94 and a 52-week high of $39.46. The stock has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.13.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.27 EPS 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 5.26%. The company had revenue of $695.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $632.51 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. Murphy Oil's revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Mizuho cut shares of Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Scotiabank reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Roth Capital cut Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $27.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.46.

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.