Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA is Southernsun Asset Management LLC’s 2nd Largest Position

Southernsun Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 8.2% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 84,797 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,531 shares during the quarter. Murphy USA accounts for about 6.1% of Southernsun Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Southernsun Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $41,887,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $6,874,000. Evergreen Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,333,000. Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,421,000. Millennium Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,029,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,134,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total value of $24,773,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,286,875.52. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $585.11.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $610.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The company’s 50 day moving average is $563.98 and its 200-day moving average is $495.15. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.85%.

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.