Two Sigma Advisers LP Sells 147,700 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Two Sigma Advisers LP decreased its holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 43.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 191,700 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 147,700 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned approximately 0.13% of Murphy Oil worth $5,801,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,807,277 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $84,948,000 after acquiring an additional 114,656 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Murphy Oil by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,234,585 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $67,619,000 after purchasing an additional 107,871 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 61.9% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,147,590 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $64,986,000 after purchasing an additional 821,427 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $56,214,000 after purchasing an additional 13,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,751,737 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $53,008,000 after purchasing an additional 837,282 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MUR shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price 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. Roth Capital lowered Murphy Oil from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $27.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $30.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Mizuho downgraded Murphy Oil from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $29.23.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUR traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.05. 525,585 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,208,218. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business's fifty day moving average price is $22.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.97. The company has a market cap of $3.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 1.10. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12-month low of $18.95 and a 12-month high of $43.02.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $665.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $684.89 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.18%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

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.