Bridges Investment Management Inc. Acquires 2,054 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 103.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,040 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,054 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MUSA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $935,465,000 after buying an additional 54,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $895,046,000 after purchasing an additional 32,643 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,231,000 after purchasing an additional 552,872 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $236,125,000 after acquiring an additional 18,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,667,000 after acquiring an additional 33,489 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MUSA. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $526.29.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.1%

MUSA traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $426.51. The company had a trading volume of 169,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 228,401. The company has a market cap of $8.43 billion, a PE ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 0.48. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $385.44 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The business has a 50-day moving average of $431.47 and a 200-day moving average of $464.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 61.19%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.12 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $435.58 per share, with a total value of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company 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.