Martingale Asset Management L P Increases Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P owned approximately 0.20% of Murphy USA worth $18,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,606,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 11,193 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,616,000 after buying an additional 712 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 8,071 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,050,000 after acquiring an additional 753 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in Murphy USA by 305.1% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,156 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,584,000 after acquiring an additional 2,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 21.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $163,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded Murphy USA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $476.29.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director David C. Haley bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $435,580. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE MUSA opened at $394.5470 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $405.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $445.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 0.42. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.92 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.28%.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.