Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Takes $6.10 Million Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,991 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,103,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Vista Finance LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $291,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Murphy USA by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 803 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $403,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Monument Capital Management grew its position in Murphy USA by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Monument Capital Management now owns 10,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,271,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,616,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Stephens dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Melius started coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James cut Murphy USA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $526.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $435.58 per share, with a total value of $435,580.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $435,580. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $402.16 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $463.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $479.95. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $400.90 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 8.44%.

About Murphy USA

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.