Commerce Bank Grows Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Commerce Bank increased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,724 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $1,606,000. Zacks Investment Management increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 8,938 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,485,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in Murphy USA by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,948 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,483,000 after buying an additional 712 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $796,000. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,873 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,448,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 available at this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.2 %

Murphy USA stock opened at $499.51 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $470.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.37.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Stephens upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Melius began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.00.

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.