Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Short Interest Down 18.3% in March

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 1,114,257 shares, a drop of 18.3% from the February 26th total of 1,364,657 shares. Currently, 6.7% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 434,226 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $447.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total value of $139,669.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,503.68. This represents a 49.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total transaction of $343,894.47. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 14,970 shares of company stock worth $6,212,365 over the last three months. Insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in Murphy USA by 82.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 317.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:MUSA traded down $5.35 on Monday, hitting $500.89. 159,427 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 354,517. The company has a market cap of $9.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.40. Murphy USA has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $523.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $424.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $402.71.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.96 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 10.38%.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.