Lazard Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSAFree Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,073,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 148.5% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE MUSA opened at $608.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $571.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $505.47. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSAGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $619.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $596.44.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Murphy USA

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,245. This trade represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total value of $94,879.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 476 shares in the company, valued at $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392 over the last quarter. 9.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Murphy USA

(Free Report)

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA)

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