Convergence Investment Partners LLC Has $1.22 Million Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Convergence Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 50.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,590 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the quarter. Convergence Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% in the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 19.0% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% in the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 844 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $270,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 4.4% during the first quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $361,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA stock traded up $8.92 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $519.63. 165,100 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,813. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $309.18 and a fifty-two week high of $522.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $495.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $450.11. The company has a market cap of $10.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $469.50.

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.