Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Buys 2,820 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

by · The Markets Daily

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Free Report) by 61.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,925.0% in the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth $49,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock opened at $431.89 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.81. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $523.09. The company has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $405.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $393.27.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.60 by $0.65. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.20 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 16,250 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total transaction of $6,196,612.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,564,058.76. This trade represents a 21.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total value of $1,721,675.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,890,325. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $17,349,722 over the last ninety days. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MUSA. Bank of America initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $375.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $460.33.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MUSA

Murphy USA Profile

(Free Report)

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.

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