Ewa LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Ewa LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 22.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 668 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the quarter. Ewa LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $239,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $369,208,000 after acquiring an additional 140,879 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Murphy USA by 30.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $105,389,000 after buying an additional 72,537 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,241,000 after buying an additional 269,159 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 192,574 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $65,808,000 after buying an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,180,000 after buying an additional 2,996 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded up $3.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $424.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 122,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,394. The company has a market capitalization of $8.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $414.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $383.57. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $268.69 and a 12-month high of $430.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.60.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 ninety days, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. 9.73% of the stock is currently owned by 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.