Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA is RIHO Partners LLC’s Largest Position

RIHO Partners LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 5.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 54,746 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,919 shares during the quarter. Murphy USA comprises about 17.0% of RIHO Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its largest holding. RIHO Partners LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $27,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 149.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,753,000 after buying an additional 304,354 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,267,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 318,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $128,511,000 after acquiring an additional 99,798 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 300,758 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $121,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 676.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,243,000 after acquiring an additional 148,301 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock opened at $600.98 on Wednesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $636.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The stock has a market cap of $11.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $568.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $502.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.85%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $287,245. The trade was a 50.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $585.11.

Murphy USA 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.