Deutsche Bank AG Purchases Shares of 13,214 Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank acquired 13,214 Murphy USA shares worth approximately $7.1 million, establishing a stake of about 0.07%. Institutional investors collectively own 80.81% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.89. Recent target prices range from $550 to $633.
• Murphy USA reported quarterly results above expectations, with adjusted earnings of $11.27 per share and revenue of $6.81 billion, up 36% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.65 per share, while insiders sold roughly $2.75 million of stock over the last quarter.

Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 13,214 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $7,121,000. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.07% of Murphy USA at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Kenora Financial LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 3.3% during the first quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $571,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $619.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $606.89.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 449 shares of the company's stock, valued at $256,774.12. This represents a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total value of $555,912.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,016 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,098 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $567.61 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The company has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.28. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $576.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $520.83. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $349.83 and a 52 week high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.36 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

Murphy USA Profile

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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