Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA is Southernsun Asset Management LLC’s 8th Largest Position

Southernsun Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 9,051 shares during the period. Murphy USA makes up approximately 4.3% of Southernsun Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Southernsun Asset Management LLC owned about 0.39% of Murphy USA worth $30,473,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at about $93,967,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 94.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,613,000 after purchasing an additional 180,055 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 3,650.7% in the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 180,858 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,573,000 after purchasing an additional 176,036 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Murphy USA by 902.2% in the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 153,202 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,976,000 after purchasing an additional 137,915 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 2,594.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 142,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $66,731,000 after purchasing an additional 136,766 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 1st. KeyCorp lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $474.00.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total value of $9,431,434.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 131,024 shares in the company, valued at $49,963,381.92. This trade represents a 15.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.0%

MUSA opened at $392.70 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $377.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $393.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.81. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $556.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56 and a beta of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.60 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.11 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 69.87%. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.20 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.63%.

Murphy USA Company 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.