Narwhal Capital Management Purchases 6,659 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Narwhal Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 98.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,413 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 6,659 shares during the period. Narwhal Capital Management owned approximately 0.07% of Murphy USA worth $6,302,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,231,000 after acquiring an additional 552,872 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $112,741,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $53,777,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $935,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 363.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 54,471 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,331,000 after acquiring an additional 42,712 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of 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 given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $526.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 10.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA traded down $9.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $415.90. 729,808 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 225,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $451.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $473.85. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $385.44 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The stock has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.54 and a beta of 0.50.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 61.19%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 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 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 8.44%.

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.