Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys New Shares in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA Inc., purchasing 3,882 shares valued at around $1.58 million during the second quarter.
• Analysts' ratings for Murphy USA have varied, with Jefferies Financial Group downgrading the stock from "buy" to "hold" and setting a price target of $350, while Wells Fargo lowered their target from $520 to $440.
• Murphy USA recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share, demonstrating a commitment to returning value to shareholders despite a small net margin of 2.52%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,882 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,579,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $483.17.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE MUSA opened at $391.77 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $388.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $428.57. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The stock has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 0.44.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The business had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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.

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