Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC Takes Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 110,000 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $3,329,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Murphy Oil at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 4.3% during the 4th 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 period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Murphy Oil by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,234,585 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $67,619,000 after purchasing an additional 107,871 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy Oil by 61.9% during the fourth 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 period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy Oil by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,857,702 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $56,214,000 after purchasing an additional 13,263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake 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 valued at $53,008,000 after purchasing an additional 837,282 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, April 21st. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 target price on Murphy Oil and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $29.31.

Murphy Oil Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of MUR stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,874,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,187,801. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1-year low of $18.95 and a 1-year high of $43.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.38 and a 200 day moving average of $27.72.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $665.71 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $684.89 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. Murphy Oil's revenue was down 15.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.89%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is 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.