Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $19.06 Million Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Moran Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,848 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the period. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of Murphy USA worth $19,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 116.7% in the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MUSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $483.17.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $376.42 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $383.87 and a 200-day moving average of $423.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Murphy USA 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.