24,049 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Bought by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Heartland Advisors opened a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter, buying 24,049 shares worth about $11.9 million and representing roughly 0.13% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, with several firms raising price targets; the stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus and an average target price of $579.56.
• Murphy USA reported strong quarterly results, topping earnings and revenue estimates, and also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share from $0.63.

Heartland Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 24,049 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $11,879,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned about 0.13% of Murphy USA at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,874,000. Evergreen Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,333,000. Millennium Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,029,000. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,421,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,134,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $579.56.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $618.94 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $562.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $491.57. The firm has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.30. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $636.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.64 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $287,245. This trade represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total transaction of $94,879.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392. 9.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company's primary operations center on two retail formats.

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