M&T Bank Corp Grows Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1,224.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,683 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 19,121 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $8,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 317.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $483.43.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA stock opened at $531.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $461.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $418.46. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $539.71. The firm has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.23.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total transaction of $1,105,206.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,198,084.63. This trade represents a 47.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total value of $139,669.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,503.68. This represents a 49.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,919 shares of company stock valued at $4,490,690. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

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.