Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Acquires 229 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,015 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $477,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 777.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Murphy USA by 141.4% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $69,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 82.1% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.4 %

Murphy USA stock opened at $489.00 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $338.94 and a twelve month high of $552.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $510.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $462.76. The firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.55%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at $196,971,533.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 in the last three months. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $464.57.

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, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.