Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 65,917 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $30,968,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.33% of Murphy USA as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the first quarter worth about $241,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,683,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 21.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 81.9% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,812 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $851,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MUSA. Jefferies Financial Group cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $476.29.
Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on Murphy USA
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.
Murphy USA Price Performance
Murphy USA stock traded down $11.1550 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $383.0750. The company's stock had a trading volume of 89,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,316. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.42. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $405.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $445.87.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The firm had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.92 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.28%.
Murphy USA Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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