Texas Yale Capital Corp. Boosts Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,814 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $241,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 124,417 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,452,000 after purchasing an additional 7,973 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 16.0% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 879 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 7,871 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,698,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.5% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,825 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,797,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp dropped their target price on 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, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $474.00.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of MUSA opened at $362.92 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The company’s fifty day moving average is $381.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $408.86. The firm has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its 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. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $7.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.