Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Bought by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 2,283.8% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 69,797 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 66,869 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $28,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the period. Vista Finance LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 4.0% during the second quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 646 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Murphy USA by 0.7% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.6% in the second quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $741,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Applied Capital LLC FL increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 5.9% in the first quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 557 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $356.36 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $381.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $409.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $6.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.03 and a beta of 0.39. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $345.23 and a 12 month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.60 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 69.87%. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MUSA. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $474.00.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the company’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 directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.