LSV Asset Management Grows Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

LSV Asset Management raised its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 96,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 8,500 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 0.45% of Murphy USA worth $34,312,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,040 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 15,901 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,670,000 after purchasing an additional 273 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 78.2% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,904 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1,827.2% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 20,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,346,000 after buying an additional 19,533 shares during the period. Finally, Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $257,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $392.44 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $414.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $385.09. The company has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $268.69 and a 12-month high of $430.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 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, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582 in the last ninety days. 9.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $408.60.

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.