Neuberger Berman Group LLC Purchases 176,036 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3,650.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 180,858 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 176,036 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $73,573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 89.8% in the 1st quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 33,991 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,969,000 after acquiring an additional 16,080 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter worth about $264,000. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,839 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,032,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 40.1% during the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 2,397 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 686 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in Murphy USA by 103.3% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 744 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $350,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total transaction of $9,431,434.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 131,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,963,381.92. This trade represents a 15.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $385.13 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $377.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $397.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.60 by $0.65. The company had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.11 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.20 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 10.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $474.00.

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.