Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys Shares of 18,154 Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,154 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $549,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares in the last quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:MUR traded up $0.57 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,800,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,209,359. The stock has a market cap of $3.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98 and a beta of 1.10. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $18.95 and a one year high of $43.02. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. The firm had revenue of $665.71 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $684.89 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. Murphy Oil's quarterly revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.06%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MUR shares. Barclays cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Roth Capital cut Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $27.00 to $25.00 in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Mizuho cut Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Murphy Oil from $31.00 to $26.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.23.

Murphy Oil Company 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.