LSV Asset Management Acquires New Shares in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 29,920 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $12,073,000. LSV Asset Management owned 0.16% of Murphy USA as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Enhancing Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 4.8% during the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total value of $343,894.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total value of $94,879.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 476 shares in the company, valued at $285,838. The trade was a 24.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 43,211 shares of company stock valued at $25,567,499. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $544.32 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $609.82. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $519.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $443.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.36.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Stephens dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America raised Murphy USA from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Murphy USA from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.71.

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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