Claiborne Deming, a director at Murphy Oil (MUR), recently bought 100,000 shares. The buy increased his stake by 4%, and came to a total cost of $2.65 million.
He was joined by a company director, who bought 1,573 shares a day later, paying just under $42,000 for the position. Otherwise, company insiders have been sellers of shares over the past two years, including sales from the CEO and CFO.
Overall, Murphy Oil insiders own 6.3% of shares.
The oil and gas exploration company slid 31% last year, far underperforming the overall stock market. The decline reflects weak demand for oil and gas, as well as lackluster prices in the energy market.
Murphy’s earnings growth slid by 45%, and revenues declined by 21%.
Despite this big decline, Murphy now trades at about 8 times forward earnings. And the company has a 15% profit margin, a reasonable return in the energy sector right now.
Action to take: Value investors may like Murphy Oil shares here, as they appear to be forming a bottom after recently hitting a 52-week low. At today’s prices, Murphy Oil pays a 4.1% dividend, which is well covered by earnings.
For traders, a potential rebound in the months ahead could mean big return for call buyers. The April $30 calls, last trading for about $0.65, could see high double-digit returns or better over the next two months.
Disclosure: The author of this article has no position in the company mentioned here, but may trade after the next 72 hours. The author receives no compensation from any company mentioned in this article.