HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 2,026 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 144,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned about 0.77% of Murphy USA worth $56,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. AlphaQuest LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,925.0% during the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 251.6% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 109 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 6.0%

MUSA opened at $407.77 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $523.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $413.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $391.88. The stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.96 EPS. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.38%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 131,024 shares in the company, valued at $49,963,381.92. This trade represents a 15.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of Murphy USA 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,890,325. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 50,918 shares of company stock worth $19,876,993 over the last 90 days. 10.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 target price on Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.50.

Murphy USA 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.