Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Purchases 36,117 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 194.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,733 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 36,117 shares during the quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $27,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 46.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,890 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,136,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,122,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $374,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 122.8% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Melius assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Stephens upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $539.00.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.4 %

MUSA opened at $493.76 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day moving average is $471.14 and its 200 day moving average is $493.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 in the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.