Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Increases Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 37.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,862 shares during the quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter worth about $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $435.58 per share, with a total value of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 389,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,830,015.72. This represents a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of MUSA opened at $367.36 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $412.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $452.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.21 and a beta of 0.42.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.92 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $476.29.

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.