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

Gotham Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 117,846 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after selling 47,601 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of Murphy Oil worth $3,566,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MUR. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Murphy Oil by 342.8% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 828 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 641 shares during the period. GeoWealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 60.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,903 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MUR shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target 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. 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 note on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp reiterated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $29.31.

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

MUR traded down $0.51 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.06. 1,874,702 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,196,009. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $23.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.63. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $18.95 and a 1 year high of $43.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.20 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.56 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $684.89 million. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.89%. Murphy Oil's payout ratio is currently 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.