Murphy Oil Insiders Added US$2.93m Of Stock To Their Holdings

Multiple insiders secured a larger position in Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) shares over the last 12 months. This is reassuring as this suggests that insiders have increased optimism about the company's prospects.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At Murphy Oil

Over the last year, we can see that the biggest insider purchase was by Independent Non-Employee Chairman & Presiding Director Claiborne Deming for US$2.7m worth of shares, at about US$26.56 per share. That implies that an insider found the current price of US$27.03 per share to be enticing. While their view may have changed since the purchase was made, this does at least suggest they have had confidence in the company's future. We do always like to see insider buying, but it is worth noting if those purchases were made at well below today's share price, as the discount to value may have narrowed with the rising price. In this case we're pleased to report that the insider purchases were made at close to current prices.

In the last twelve months insiders purchased 111.57k shares for US$2.9m. On the other hand they divested 9.58k shares, for US$269k. In total, Murphy Oil insiders bought more than they sold over the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

View our latest analysis for Murphy Oil

Murphy Oil is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of under-the-radar companies with insider buying.

Insider Ownership Of Murphy Oil

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that Murphy Oil insiders own 6.3% of the company, worth about US$241m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

So What Do The Murphy Oil Insider Transactions Indicate?

There haven't been any insider transactions in the last three months -- that doesn't mean much. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. With high insider ownership and encouraging transactions, it seems like Murphy Oil insiders think the business has merit. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. At Simply Wall St, we found 2 warning signs for Murphy Oil that deserve your attention before buying any shares.

Of course Murphy Oil may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality 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 of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.