Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stake Increased by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 29.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,508 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,262,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 863 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 62.0% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $701,000 after buying an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 25.1% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 2,128 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,263,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $526.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $435.58 per share, with a total value of $435,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MUSA stock traded down $1.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $424.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 429,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,037. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56 and a beta of 0.59. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $472.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $487.63. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $421.57 and a 12-month 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

About Murphy USA

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.