Mach 1 Financial Group LLC Acquires New Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Mach 1 Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 721 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 191.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Murphy USA by 34.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its position in Murphy USA by 942.9% during the fourth quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 42.6% in the third quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 174 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.6 %

MUSA opened at $411.20 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $268.69 and a 1 year high of $430.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $415.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $384.59.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.21 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.