Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Purchased by V Square Quantitative Management LLC

V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 40.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 612 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 88.5% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $641,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Applied Capital LLC FL acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth about $239,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 100.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 985 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $464.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $479.68 on Tuesday. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $350.55 and a twelve month high of $552.30. The firm has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $502.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $472.07.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.02 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.55%.

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.