Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) Short Interest Up 19.8% in February

Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 19,530,000 shares, an increase of 19.8% from the February 13th total of 16,300,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,500,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.8 days. Approximately 14.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Murphy Oil

In related news, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $26.70 per share, for a total transaction of $41,999.10. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Claiborne P. Deming purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at $24,660,801.97. This represents a 5.67 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy Oil

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth about $1,217,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 13,263 shares during the last quarter. Prospector Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 50.5% during the third quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 307,092 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,361,000 after buying an additional 103,092 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 605,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $20,431,000 after buying an additional 76,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $618,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Stock Up 3.9 %

Shares of MUR stock traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $27.11. 2,771,053 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,745,327. 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 has a one year low of $22.90 and a one year high of $49.14. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.08 and a beta of 2.18.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued 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 return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 13.44%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy Oil will post 2.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.325 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.80%. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial downgraded Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.31.

Murphy Oil Company 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.