Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Acquired by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 146,878 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.78% of Murphy USA worth $59,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 138,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $53,967,000 after purchasing an additional 23,349 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,705 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares during the period. VELA Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 200.8% during the 3rd quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 6,714 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 4,482 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,638 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $24,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,614 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $556.12 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $513.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $440.05. The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.36. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $609.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.85%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total transaction of $94,879.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,245. The trade was a 50.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 47,210 shares of company stock valued at $27,129,150 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MUSA. Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.71.

Murphy USA Profile

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.