Engineers Gate Manager LP Increases Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 21,322.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 103,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 102,560 shares during the period. Murphy USA makes up 0.7% of Engineers Gate Manager LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Engineers Gate Manager LP owned about 0.56% of Murphy USA worth $55,526,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total value of $52,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,947.20. This represents a 28.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.89.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE MUSA opened at $516.51 on Wednesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $349.83 and a 1 year high of $636.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.73, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.25. The business’s 50-day moving average is $570.47 and its 200 day moving average is $530.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%.The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.