First Trust Advisors LP Increases Stock Position in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 942,927 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock after acquiring an additional 187,610 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Murphy Oil were worth $38,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Murphy Oil in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy Oil by 14,700.0% in the 1st quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 740 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,701 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MUR shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Murphy Oil from $37.00 to $35.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Murphy Oil from a “buy” rating to an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $38.33.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

Murphy Oil stock opened at $37.49 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52-week low of $21.86 and a 52-week high of $43.34. The firm has a market cap of $5.37 billion, a PE ratio of 63.55 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.99.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. Murphy Oil had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 3.09%. The business had revenue of $732.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $702.96 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil Corporation is an independent upstream oil and gas company engaged in the exploration, development and production of crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The company’s operations encompass conventional onshore and offshore reservoirs, with an emphasis on liquids-rich properties and deepwater assets. Through a combination of proprietary technologies and strategic joint ventures, Murphy Oil seeks to optimize recovery rates and manage its portfolio to balance long-term resource development with operational flexibility.

Murphy Oil’s exploration and production activities are geographically diversified.