Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,419 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 257 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 117,096 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $41,752,000 after buying an additional 2,199 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 128,194 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,709,000 after buying an additional 17,077 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 23.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,221 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,505,000 after acquiring an additional 806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,629,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,098,491.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.60.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $420.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49 and a beta of 0.76. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $267.93 and a one year high of $430.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $414.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $382.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.21 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.59%.

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.