Is Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) a good equity to bet on right now? We like to check what the smart money thinks first before doing extensive research. Although there have been several high profile failed hedge fund picks, the consensus picks among hedge fund investors have historically outperformed the market after adjusting for known risk attributes. It’s not surprising given that hedge funds have access to better information and more resources to find the latest market-moving information.
Is Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) the right investment to pursue these days? Money managers are betting on the stock. The number of bullish hedge fund bets increased by 3 in recent months. MUR was in 27 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 24 hedge funds in our database with MUR positions at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Watsco Inc (NYSE:WSO), Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM), and Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE:GXP) to gather more data points.
Follow Murphy Oil Corp (NYSE:MUR)
Follow Murphy Oil Corp (NYSE:MUR)
Keeping this in mind, let’s check out the fresh action regarding Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR).
How are hedge funds trading Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR)?
At the end of the third quarter, a total of 27 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 13% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).
When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Mason Hawkins’s Southeastern Asset Management has the biggest position in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR), worth close to $162.5 million, amounting to 1.4% of its total 13F portfolio. The second most bullish fund manager is Pzena Investment Management, managed by Richard S. Pzena, which holds a $114.7 million position; 0.7% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Some other professional money managers with similar optimism consist of Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management, Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies and Ron Gutfleish’s Elm Ridge Capital.
Consequently, some big names were breaking ground themselves. PDT Partners, managed by Peter Muller, assembled the largest position in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR). PDT Partners had $5.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments also initiated a $3.9 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new MUR investors: Boaz Weinstein’s Saba Capital, Matthew Hulsizer’s PEAK6 Capital Management, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management.
Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Watsco Inc (NYSE:WSO), Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (NYSE:OZM), Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE:GXP), and Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD). This group of stocks’ market caps match MUR’s market cap.
| Ticker | No of HFs with positions | Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) | Change in HF Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| WSO | 16 | 191180 | 1 |
| OZM | 12 | 34456 | 1 |
| GXP | 11 | 148206 | -2 |
| STLD | 24 | 647802 | -6 |
As you can see these stocks had an average of 15.75 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $255 million. That figure was $444 million in MUR’s case. Steel Dynamics, Inc. (NASDAQ:STLD) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Great Plains Energy Incorporated (NYSE:GXP) is the least popular one with only 11 bullish hedge fund positions. Compared to these stocks Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) is more popular among hedge funds. Considering that hedge funds are fond of this stock in relation to its market cap peers, it may be a good idea to analyze it in detail and potentially include it in your portfolio.
