Sanders Morris Harris LLC Acquires 1,700 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Sanders Morris Harris LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $857,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth $54,143,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 2.6% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 826 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. RHS Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at about $226,000. Wedmont Private Capital grew its position in Murphy USA by 11.3% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,294 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,189,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 6.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $538.04 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $349.83 and a 1 year high of $636.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $529.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $546.23. The firm has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.36 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were given a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total value of $52,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,947.20. This trade represents a 28.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MUSA shares. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Murphy USA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Capital One Financial initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $606.89.

Murphy USA Profile

Murphy USA Inc operates a nationwide network of retail gasoline stations and convenience stores in the United States. Its stores sell branded and unbranded motor fuel, tobacco products, nicotine products, beverages, snacks, packaged food, and other convenience items. Some locations also offer additional services such as lottery products and car washes.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, primarily in proximity to Walmart stores and along major roads.