1,650 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Acquired by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,650 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $889,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 82.5% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MUSA. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $619.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.89.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $532.05 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $349.83 and a 1 year high of $636.04. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $574.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $522.50.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%.The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.36 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 53,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,487.25. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,774.12. This represents a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 9.02% 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.