Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 311,675 Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 311,675 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,148,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.22% of Murphy Oil as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new position in Murphy Oil during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy Oil by 14,700.0% during the first 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 period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy Oil in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 717 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.31% of the company’s stock.

Murphy Oil Trading Up 3.6%

Shares of NYSE:MUR opened at $38.19 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $35.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Murphy Oil Corporation has a one year low of $21.86 and a one year high of $43.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 0.50.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.57 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $926.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $888.51 million. Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%.The business’s revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Murphy Oil from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Scotiabank reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Roth Capital reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Murphy Oil from $41.00 to $38.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of Murphy Oil in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.58.

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.