Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Bought by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1,827.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 19,533 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $7,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MUSA. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $138,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $1,925,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 40.6% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 31,087 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,623,000 after purchasing an additional 8,972 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth $2,532,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $392.44 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $414.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $384.99. The company has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $268.69 and a fifty-two week high of $430.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid 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 dividend yield of 0.43%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.60.

Murphy USA 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.