Magnetar Financial LLC Purchases New Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,824 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $915,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,777,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after purchasing an additional 99,253 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,122,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $18,971,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $440.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $474.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $497.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MUSA. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.67.

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.