Optimize Financial Inc Buys Shares of 1,539 Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 1,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 24.0% during the second quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 491,641 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $200,000,000 after buying an additional 95,259 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 446,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $181,732,000 after acquiring an additional 3,447 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $93,967,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3,650.7% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 180,858 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,573,000 after purchasing an additional 176,036 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 676.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,243,000 after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $467.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Murphy USA from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.33.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $434.68 on Wednesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $523.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $413.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $393.32. The company has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total transaction of $9,431,434.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 131,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,963,381.92. This trade represents a 15.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total transaction of $1,721,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,890,325. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock worth $17,349,722. Company insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.