Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Grows Position in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Key Points

• Wedge Capital Management increased its holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation by 4.4%, owning 700,779 shares valued at approximately $15.77 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several institutions have significantly boosted their positions in Murphy Oil, including Charles Schwab, which raised its stake by 210.8% in the first quarter.
• Murphy Oil announced a quarterly dividend of $0.325, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.9%, with payout ratio approximately at 67.36%.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 4.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 700,779 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after acquiring an additional 29,765 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.49% of Murphy Oil worth $15,768,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUR. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 47.8% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,174 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 9,110 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 19,205 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,065 shares in the last quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $316,000. GTS Securities LLC raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 36,836 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,115,000 after purchasing an additional 19,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth about $1,303,000. 78.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

NYSE:MUR traded up $0.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,630,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,822,899. Murphy Oil Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.94 and a fifty-two week high of $36.63. The firm's 50 day moving average is $24.78 and its 200-day moving average is $23.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $4.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.15.

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 return on equity of 5.25% and a net margin of 10.20%.The business had revenue of $695.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $632.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were given a $0.325 dividend. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 18th. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MUR. Scotiabank restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $29.54.

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.