Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Position Raised by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments lifted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 78.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,274 shares during the quarter. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,241,000 after buying an additional 269,159 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,209,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 15.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $369,208,000 after purchasing an additional 140,879 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,125,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 30.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $105,389,000 after purchasing an additional 72,537 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,797,249.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at $8,797,249.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,700.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE MUSA traded down $3.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $392.44. 454,711 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 245,078. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $268.69 and a 1-year high of $430.83. The company has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $414.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $384.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $408.60.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.