Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Purchases New Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 58,427 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $24,493,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 191.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 394.7% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Delta Asset Management LLC TN boosted its stake 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 worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total transaction of $374,692.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at $8,818,436.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,451 shares of company stock worth $5,032,498. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock traded up $10.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $511.11. 235,716 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 173,516. The business’s 50-day moving average is $460.04 and its 200-day moving average is $420.64. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $282.49 and a 12-month high of $512.38. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.45 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. 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. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James raised their price target on Murphy USA from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $428.83.

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.