LSV Asset Management Has $34.85 Million Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

LSV Asset Management cut its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 13.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 13,100 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management owned 0.40% of Murphy USA worth $34,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 191.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 394.7% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Delta Asset Management LLC TN lifted its position in Murphy USA by 70.7% in the 4th quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 128 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $408.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Murphy USA news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at $8,818,436.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,451 shares of company stock worth $5,032,498 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA traded up $3.48 on Friday, hitting $475.37. 118,664 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 213,087. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $450.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $414.55. The firm has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $282.49 and a fifty-two week high of $489.89.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.97). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.49 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.39%.

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.