Nuveen Asset Management LLC Cuts Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 432,110 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 397,717 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned about 0.30% of Murphy Oil worth $13,076,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MUR. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the 4th 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 bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 565 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MUR shares. Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. 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 research note on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 research note on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Johnson Rice downgraded Murphy Oil from an "accumulate" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.23.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $20.93. 2,004,908 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,218,786. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52 week low of $18.95 and a 52 week high of $43.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 1.10.

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

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.21%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

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.