Murphy Oil Corporation (MUR)

[Timothy Smith]

Billionaire interest - Murphy Oil Corporation (MUR) is on Dan Loeb's top dividend plays with a yield of 2.00%.

It recently beat Q4 earnings estimates in a big way, coming out with a $0.77 surprise over expected. MUR also joined LyondellBasell (another Loeb favorite) in giving out a special dividend in December of 2012 ($2.50 in Murphy's case); both companies handed out the distributions in anticipation of looming tax rate increases due to the fiscal cliff.

Despite Murphy's recent positivity in the eyes of their shareholders, most analysts on the Street are encouraging holding versus accumulation, as reported earnings and revenue still came in negative versus this time last year.

William B. Gray, manager of almost a trillion dollars in assets, has a position in MUR comparable to Loeb's