Inspire Investing LLC Purchases Shares of 5,505 Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,505 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,015.7% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 569 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 518 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Murphy Oil by 47.7% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil by 1,434.5% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,205 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 27.0% during the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,105 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $35.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a PE ratio of 9.93 and a beta of 2.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.20. 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 12 month low of $33.15 and a 12 month high of $49.14.

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

Murphy Oil Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio is 33.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MUR shares. UBS Group lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $45.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays cut their target price on Murphy Oil from $54.00 to $46.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy Oil from $59.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy Oil presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.00.

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.