Aigen Investment Management LP Boosts Holdings in Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR)

Aigen Investment Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Murphy Oil Co. (NYSE:MUR) by 130.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,179 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,233 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 266.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 741 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 539 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,284 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the period. New Wave Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth $113,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Murphy Oil by 14.5% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,276 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the third quarter worth $200,000. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on MUR shares. Roth Capital set a $37.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.31.

Insider Activity

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

Murphy Oil Stock Performance

Shares of MUR stock opened at $24.10 on Friday. Murphy Oil Co. has a 12 month low of $22.90 and a 12 month high of $49.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a PE ratio of 8.96 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.92.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by ($0.27). Murphy Oil had a net margin of 13.44% and a return on equity of 7.66%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Co. 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.39%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a boost from Murphy Oil’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. Murphy Oil’s payout ratio is 48.33%.

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.