Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) is River Road Asset Management LLC’s 10th Largest Position

River Road Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 390,058 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 38,937 shares during the period. Murphy USA comprises 1.9% of River Road Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. River Road Asset Management LLC owned 1.83% of Murphy USA worth $139,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,983 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Republic Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,221 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $404.60.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA traded up $3.50 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $421.11. 336,479 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,854. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $410.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $379.97. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $265.49 and a one year high of $430.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.59%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582 in the last three months. 9.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.