CX Institutional Invests $59,000 in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $59,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth $64,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 63.5% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE MUSA opened at $399.67 on Wednesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.44 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $460.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $478.28.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 61.19%. The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Murphy USA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Melius assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $526.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director David C. Haley acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,580. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Profile

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.