Driehaus Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) by 21.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 167,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 30,053 shares during the quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC owned about 0.74% of Murphy USA worth $46,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 16,902 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Harbor Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $4,152,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 87,085 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $24,344,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 6,228 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,744,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 187.8% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 49,452 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $13,595,000 after purchasing an additional 32,267 shares in the last quarter. 85.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Murphy USA
In other Murphy USA news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.97, for a total transaction of $156,183.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $816,129.78. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 550 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,129.78. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 1,075 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.72, for a total transaction of $298,549.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,849,892.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 1,628 shares of company stock worth $455,611 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Murphy USA Stock Performance
MUSA stock traded down $1.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $284.81. The stock had a trading volume of 71,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 284,721. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $275.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.58. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $217.39 and a 52 week high of $323.00.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.62. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.95 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.68% and a return on equity of 86.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.08 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 12th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.67%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $325.00 to $330.00 in a report on Thursday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $315.60.
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.
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