2,539 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Acquired by Seven Eight Capital LP

Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $643,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 61.4% in the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 5,592 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,344,000 after buying an additional 2,127 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 126.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 8,635 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,620,000 after acquiring an additional 4,821 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Murphy USA by 62.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,455 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $24,493,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.32, for a total transaction of $4,575,805.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 199,563 shares in the company, valued at $87,871,580.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Murphy USA news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.32, for a total value of $4,575,805.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 199,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,871,580.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $82,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,451 shares of company stock valued at $5,032,498 over the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $428.83.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock traded down $7.24 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $499.39. The stock had a trading volume of 247,349 shares, compared to its average volume of 212,408. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $282.49 and a twelve month high of $520.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $463.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $422.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.97). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $4.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.39%.

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.