Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Key Points

• Renaissance Technologies reduced its Murphy USA stake by 14.2% in Q1, selling 38,280 shares and ending with 231,862 shares worth about $114.5 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally positive: Murphy USA has a Moderate Buy consensus, with six Buy ratings and five Hold ratings, and an average price target of $585.11.
• The company recently posted strong quarterly results, with EPS of $7.28 beating estimates and revenue of $4.82 billion topping forecasts; it also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share.

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 231,862 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 38,280 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 1.26% of Murphy USA worth $114,533,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 148.5% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Murphy USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Capital One Financial started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $585.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total value of $94,879.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $285,838. The trade was a 24.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. This trade represents a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $613.40 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $636.04. The company has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $566.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $499.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.85%.

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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