Freestone Grove Partners LP Takes Position in Murphy Oil Corporation $MUR

Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 156,144 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,084,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP owned approximately 0.11% of Murphy Oil as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 10,954 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy Oil by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Baron Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,118 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy Oil by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 11,091 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $347,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 45,662 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,427,000 after buying an additional 401 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Murphy Oil by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,066 shares of the oil and gas producer’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. 78.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy Oil Price Performance

NYSE:MUR opened at $35.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $35.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.70. Murphy Oil Corporation has a 52 week low of $24.49 and a 52 week high of $43.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.66 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

Murphy Oil (NYSE:MUR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.02). Murphy Oil had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 9.74%.The company had revenue of $926.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 33.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy Oil Corporation will post 2.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy Oil Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. Murphy Oil’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of Murphy Oil in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Barclays downgraded shares of Murphy Oil from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of Murphy Oil in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Mizuho raised Murphy Oil to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $37.58.

Murphy Oil Company Profile

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.