Amalgamated Bank Reduces Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Amalgamated Bank decreased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,651 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 380 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 144.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 36,753 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $18,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,924 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $965,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $435.58 per share, with a total value of $435,580.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,580. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $420.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $438.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.91. The firm has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a PE ratio of 17.74 and a beta of 0.48. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $385.44 and a twelve month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released 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). The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.19% and a net margin of 2.46%. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share 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 given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.44%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.