Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,114,257 shares, a decrease of 18.3% from the February 26th total of 1,364,657 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 434,226 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded down $4.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $493.55. 341,983 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 389,036. Murphy USA has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $523.09. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $426.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $404.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

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

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 10.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp set a $500.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $447.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total transaction of $343,894.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total value of $1,105,206.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 14,970 shares of company stock worth $6,212,365 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 318.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $164,940,000 after buying an additional 323,331 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 149.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,753,000 after buying an additional 304,354 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth $93,967,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 676.7% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,243,000 after buying an additional 148,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1,723.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 132,450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $53,446,000 after acquiring an additional 125,185 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

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.