Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Invests $5.49 Million in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management acquired 10,184 Murphy USA shares worth approximately $5.49 million, while institutional investors collectively own 80.81% of the company.
• Murphy USA reported a strong quarter, with EPS of $11.27 beating estimates by $1.32 and revenue rising 36% year over year to $6.81 billion.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $606.89, although company insiders sold 4,567 shares worth roughly $2.49 million during the last quarter.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 10,184 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,488,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.06% of Murphy USA as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $876,000 after buying an additional 19 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 15.7% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 412 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,021,000. Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Finally, Bull Harbor Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at about $365,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. This trade represents a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 4,567 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,673 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $619.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $606.89.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.6%

NYSE:MUSA opened at $547.47 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $349.83 and a 52-week high of $636.04. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $577.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $512.72.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $1.32. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.36 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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