Squarepoint Ops LLC Raises Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 29.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,508 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,890 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,874,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 276.7% in the fourth quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,567 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $786,000 after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 39.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,364 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,603 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,310,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded down $6.61 on Friday, hitting $427.53. 395,572 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 215,152. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 0.59. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $473.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $488.91. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $424.03 and a 52 week high of $561.08.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). The business had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm's revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James downgraded Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Stephens dropped their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $526.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Company 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.