Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 612 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 123.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,108 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 37.0% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 186.1% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MUSA. Melius started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.3 %

Murphy USA stock opened at $438.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $475.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $497.92. The company has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Company 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.