Moody's is placing Murphy Oil's (NYSE:MUR) Baa3 senior unsecured ratings on review for a...

Moody's is placing Murphy Oil's (NYSE:MUR) Baa3 senior unsecured ratings on review for a potential downgrade on the back of its announcement of a $1B share buyback program, $500M special dividend and the spin-off of its downstream assets in the U.S. The agency calls it a "notable shift" in financial policy following a long track record of conservative financial leverage.