Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR Shares Sold by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc cut its stake in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 12.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 45,243 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after selling 6,662 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $1,018,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the second quarter worth $1,600,000. LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 3,751,712 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $84,414,000 after acquiring an additional 118,689 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 87.1% in the 2nd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 158,545 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,567,000 after acquiring an additional 73,790 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 9.8% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,471 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 76.1% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 157,085 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $3,534,000 after acquiring an additional 67,899 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 2.0%

Murphy Oil stock opened at $32.07 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.94 and a 12 month high of $34.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.99.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 21st. The oil and gas producer reported ($0.09) earnings per share for the quarter. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 10.20% and a return on equity of 5.25%. The firm had revenue of $440.08 million for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 132.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy Oil from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Tuesday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Murphy Oil from $23.00 to $22.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $28.50.

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.