Intech Investment Management LLC Acquires 18,535 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 281.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,127 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,535 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC owned 0.13% of Murphy USA worth $10,222,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 89.8% during the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 33,991 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,969,000 after purchasing an additional 16,080 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,840 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the period. Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 25.2% during the first quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 1,197 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $562,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Murphy USA by 81.9% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,812 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MUSA. KeyCorp cut their price target on Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $474.00.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $355.92 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $379.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $403.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 0.39. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.60 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.11 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.20 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 10.63%.

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.