Deutsche Bank AG trimmed its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Free Report) by 56.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 5,082 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 6,598 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pinebridge Investments L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 136.1% during the second quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 85 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 70.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 111 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at $38,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 34.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covington Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at $61,000. 83.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Murphy USA Trading Down 0.4 %
NYSE MUSA opened at $411.89 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $372.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of $356.32. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $231.65 and a one year high of $416.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.21 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 25.58 earnings per share for the current year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 23rd. 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 0.41%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.59%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $425.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of 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, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $395.60.
View Our Latest Analysis on Murphy USA
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Murphy USA news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,776 shares of company stock valued at $3,968,657. 9.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
About Murphy USA
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. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.
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