Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Buys Shares of 277,417 Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 277,417 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock, valued at approximately $8,395,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Murphy Oil as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 329,807 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $9,980,000 after purchasing an additional 36,600 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 106,572 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $3,225,000 after buying an additional 8,984 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 42.2% during the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 47,332 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $1,432,000 after buying an additional 14,041 shares during the period. Quantessence Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 120,816 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $3,657,000 after acquiring an additional 6,710 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy Oil news, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $26.47 per share, for a total transaction of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 931,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,660,801.97. The trade was a 5.67 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu acquired 1,573 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $26.70 per share, with a total value of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. The trade was a 4.43 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 6.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MUR shares. Barclays downgraded Murphy Oil from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $24.00 in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "equal weight" rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target 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. Roth Capital set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $36.00 to $22.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.23.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock traded up $0.65 on Friday, hitting $21.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,076,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,111,398. The company has a market capitalization of $3.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.09 and a beta of 1.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $23.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. Murphy Oil Co. has a 1 year low of $18.95 and a 1 year high of $45.31.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid 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 5.97%. Murphy Oil's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

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.