Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 231,862 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 38,280 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $114,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $6,874,000. Evergreen Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $1,333,000. Millennium Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $1,029,000. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $1,134,000. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 45.4% during the 4th quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 9,765 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,051 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $287,245. This represents a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.5%

Murphy USA stock opened at $613.40 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $636.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $566.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $499.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $585.11.

Murphy USA Profile

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.