Texas Yale Capital Corp. Buys 917 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Key Points

• Texas Yale Capital Corp. increased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 25.9%, acquiring an additional 917 shares, bringing its total holdings to 4,452 shares valued at approximately $2.09 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including FMR LLC and GAMMA Investing LLC, have made significant increases in their positions in Murphy USA, contributing to over 80.81% of the company's stock being owned by institutional investors.
• Murphy USA's recent earnings report showed a miss on expectations with an EPS of $2.63, down from $3.12 the previous year, alongside a quarterly revenue decline of 6.6%.

Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 25.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,452 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp.'s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $895,046,000 after purchasing an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,231,000 after purchasing an additional 552,872 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,667,000 after purchasing an additional 33,489 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 284,564 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $142,780,000 after purchasing an additional 16,954 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 research note on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating 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 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $519.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,580. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 10.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $422.16 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $385.44 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74. The firm's 50 day moving average is $422.40 and its 200 day moving average is $458.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81 and a beta of 0.48.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). The company 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 61.19% and a net margin of 2.46%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.12 EPS. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 currently 8.44%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MUSA? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.