Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Buys 32,411 Shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 24.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,316 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,411 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. owned 0.11% of Murphy Oil worth $6,859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 47.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 721 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $101,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 14.0% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,547 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 35,647 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $1,629,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 6.2% in the first quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 6,940 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. 78.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MUR shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $49.00 to $45.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $47.00 to $41.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.18.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock opened at $34.17 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Murphy Oil Co. has a 52-week low of $33.15 and a 52-week high of $49.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $38.17 and its 200 day moving average is $41.42. The company has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 2.21.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $802.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $813.97 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 11.68% and a net margin of 17.32%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.79 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Co. will post 3.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

About Murphy Oil

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.