ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) by 17.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 122,238 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 18,076 shares during the quarter. Murphy USA accounts for about 0.5% of ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.54% of Murphy USA worth $34,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,650,681 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $728,697,000 after acquiring an additional 80,089 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 462,016 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $129,152,000 after buying an additional 70,813 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 251.2% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 89,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $24,571,000 after buying an additional 63,932 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Murphy USA by 20.6% during the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 332,877 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $77,518,000 after buying an additional 56,905 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 115.3% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 89,131 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $24,502,000 after acquiring an additional 47,731 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.30% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several equities analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $325.00 to $330.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 4th. Raymond James dropped their price objective 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 upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.60.
Murphy USA Stock Up 2.8 %
NYSE:MUSA traded up $7.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $288.68. The stock had a trading volume of 60,372 shares, compared to its average volume of 286,625. The stock has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s 50 day moving average is $271.68 and its 200 day moving average is $271.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.50, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $217.39 and a fifty-two week high of $323.00.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.18 by $0.62. The company had revenue of $5.08 billion for 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%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.08 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 12th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.67%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Murphy USA news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 1,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.72, for a total value of $298,549.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,849,892.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $156,183.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,874 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $816,129.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,628 shares of company stock valued at $455,611 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.
Murphy USA Profile
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.
See Also
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.
