Whittier Trust Co. Purchases 6,252 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Whittier Trust Co. significantly increased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by purchasing 6,252 shares, raising its position by 273.4%, resulting in total holdings valued at $3,473,000.
• Institutional investors now own 80.81% of Murphy USA's stock, indicating strong institutional interest.
• Despite a consensus rating of "Hold," analyst opinions are mixed, with some firms setting price targets as high as $480.00 while others downgraded the stock to "strong sell."

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 273.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 6,252 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.'s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,473,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Zacks Research lowered Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $405.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $477.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the purchase, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $371.68 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $384.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $419.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $345.23 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.42.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The business had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.92 EPS. The company's revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

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.

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