Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Grows Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 305.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,156 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,377 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 37.0% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 186.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stephens raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $539.00.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA opened at $499.43 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $470.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $493.50. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $382.04 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.73.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

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.