Franklin Resources Inc. Raises Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 22.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 166,634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 30,903 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.86% of Murphy USA worth $67,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1,925.0% in the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter worth $47,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $48,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 16,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total value of $6,196,612.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 59,172 shares in the company, valued at $22,564,058.76. This represents a 21.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $474.00.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $367.22 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $377.62 and a 200 day moving average of $397.67.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.63%.

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.