Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Bought by First Affirmative Financial Network

First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 689 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 96,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,312,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,949,000. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 530.3% in the 4th quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 6,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,216,000 after acquiring an additional 5,229 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 29.5% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 26,671 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $11,180,000 after acquiring an additional 6,069 shares during the period. Finally, Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $138,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $479.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.12 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $436.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $404.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $282.49 and a 1-year high of $488.62.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.45% and a net margin of 2.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.80 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.57 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 199,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $87,871,580.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of the firm’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 owns 199,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $87,871,580.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,451 shares of company stock worth $5,032,498. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $408.60.

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.