EntryPoint Capital LLC Takes Position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 15,776 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $477,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Commerce Bank lifted its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 34.0% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 14,843 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $501,000 after buying an additional 3,763 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy Oil by 14.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 605,557 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $20,431,000 after acquiring an additional 76,487 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Murphy Oil by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 67,246 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 14,181 shares in the last quarter. Prospector Partners LLC boosted its stake in Murphy Oil by 50.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prospector Partners LLC now owns 307,092 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $10,361,000 after purchasing an additional 103,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Murphy Oil in the 3rd quarter worth $3,954,000. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Shares of Murphy Oil stock opened at $27.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32 and a beta of 2.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $27.63 and its 200 day moving average is $30.81. Murphy Oil Co. has a one year low of $22.90 and a one year high of $49.14.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy Oil Co. will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy Oil Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.68%. This is an increase from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is currently 48.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 bought at an average cost of $26.47 per share, with a total value of $1,323,500.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 931,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,660,801.97. This trade represents a 5.67 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Meenambigai Palanivelu purchased 1,573 shares of the company’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 completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 37,065 shares in the company, valued at $989,635.50. This trade represents a 4.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 5.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MUR. UBS Group lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $34.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial lowered Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy Oil presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.31.

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.