Yahoo Finance Insider Buying: The Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) Independent Director Just Bought US$1.0m Worth Of Shares
Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) shareholders (or potential shareholders) will be happy to see that the Independent Director, Robert Murphy, recently bought a whopping US$1.0m worth of stock, at a price of US$6.40. While that only increased their holding size by 4.9%, it is still a big swing by our standards.
See our latest analysis for Murphy Oil
Murphy Oil Insider Transactions Over The Last Year
In fact, the recent purchase by Robert Murphy was the biggest purchase of Murphy Oil shares made by an insider individual in the last twelve months, according to our records. That means that even when the share price was higher than US$4.55 (the recent price), an insider wanted to purchase shares. Their view may have changed since then, but at least it shows they felt optimistic at the time. To us, it's very important to consider the price insiders pay for shares is very important. Generally speaking, it catches our eye when insiders have purchased shares at above current prices, as it suggests they believed the shares were worth buying, even at a higher price.
In the last twelve months insiders purchased 305.77k shares for US$1.9m. But they sold 67081 shares for US$1.6m. Overall, Murphy Oil insiders were net buyers last year. You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date!
There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).
Insider Ownership of Murphy Oil
For a common shareholder, it is worth checking how many shares are held by company insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It appears that Murphy Oil insiders own 6.0% of the company, worth about US$42m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.
What Might The Insider Transactions At Murphy Oil Tell Us?
The recent insider purchases are heartening. And an analysis of the transactions over the last year also gives us confidence. When combined with notable insider ownership, these factors suggest Murphy Oil insiders are well aligned, and that they may think the share price is too low. So these insider transactions can help us build a thesis about the stock, but it's also worthwhile knowing the risks facing this company. For instance, we've identified 4 warning signs for Murphy Oil (2 shouldn't be ignored) you should be aware of.
Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.
For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions.
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