SailingStone Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Position in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Key Points

• SailingStone Capital Partners acquired 486,854 Murphy Oil shares worth approximately $15.9 million, giving it a 0.34% stake and making MUR its 12th-largest portfolio holding. Institutional investors collectively own 78.31% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: Murphy Oil has an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $37.33, with several firms recently lowering targets and Barclays assigning an “Underweight” rating.
• Murphy Oil reported quarterly revenue of $926.3 million, up 33.5% year over year, but slightly missed earnings expectations with EPS of $1.55 versus $1.57. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.35, representing a 3.6% annualized yield.

SailingStone Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 486,854 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $15,852,000. Murphy Oil accounts for 3.1% of SailingStone Capital Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. SailingStone Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.34% of Murphy Oil as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the second quarter valued at $626,514,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 3.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,171,385 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $337,081,000 after buying an additional 238,326 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,572,610 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $174,144,000 after acquiring an additional 143,125 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 3,119.7% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,130,609 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $157,574,000 after purchasing an additional 4,971,260 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 105.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,310,884 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $136,574,000 after buying an additional 1,700,498 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reduced their target price on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $41.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Mizuho raised shares of Murphy Oil to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered shares of Murphy Oil from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $37.33.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $38.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.95. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $43.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%.The firm had revenue of $926.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $888.51 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 33.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 17th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is 69.31%.

Murphy Oil Company 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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