Argent Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Argent Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 530.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,229 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 96,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,312,000 after acquiring an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at $8,949,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at $138,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at $1,925,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 40.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 31,087 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $10,623,000 after purchasing an additional 8,972 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total transaction of $374,692.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,818,436.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,451 shares of company stock valued at $5,032,498 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $408.60.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA stock traded up $25.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $474.19. 424,346 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 219,074. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $282.49 and a 1-year high of $488.62. The firm has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $426.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $398.50.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The company’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.80 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 7.39%.

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.