Short Interest in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Decreases By 18.3%

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MUSA. Stephens decreased their price target 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. began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $447.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total transaction of $1,105,206.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,198,084.63. This trade represents a 47.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total transaction of $139,669.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,503.68. This represents a 49.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,970 shares of company stock valued at $6,212,365. 10.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its position in Murphy USA by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 953 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $385,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,021,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,267,000 after buying an additional 7,973 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $494.51. 209,488 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 354,990. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $426.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $404.17. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $523.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

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