Cannell & Spears LLC Raises Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Cannell & Spears LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 32,480 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $16,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 8,758 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,317,000 after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 81.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $708,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $740,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 973 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MUSA. Melius started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE MUSA opened at $459.90 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $382.04 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $495.15.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 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%. On average, analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.10%.

Murphy USA 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.