Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Invests $361,000 in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)
Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,291 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $361,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 57.8% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 78,029 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $21,812,000 after purchasing an additional 28,577 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in Murphy USA by 22.7% in the 4th quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 8,267 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,528 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at $602,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 11,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,212,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.30% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $325.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given 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 a consensus target price of $315.60.
Murphy USA Trading Down 1.5 %
Shares of MUSA opened at $281.56 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $217.39 and a 52-week high of $323.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $269.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.05. The stock has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.80.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.62. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 86.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.08 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 12th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.67%.
Insider Activity at Murphy USA
In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 1,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.72, for a total value of $298,549.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,661 shares in the company, valued at $1,849,892.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 1,075 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.72, for a total value of $298,549.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,661 shares in the company, valued at $1,849,892.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.97, for a total value of $156,183.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,874 shares in the company, valued at $816,129.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,628 shares of company stock worth $455,611. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.
About Murphy USA
Murphy USA, Inc engages in marketing motor fuel products and convenience merchandise through retail stores, namely Murphy USA and Murphy Express. It collaborates with Walmart to offer customers discounted and free items based on purchases of qualifying fuel and merchandise. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, AR.
Featured Articles
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Before you consider Murphy USA, you’ll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on… and Murphy USA wasn’t on the list.
While Murphy USA currently has a “Hold” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
