Proficio Capital Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,049 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,042,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 37.0% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 186.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MUSA. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $525.67.

Remove Ads

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock traded down $5.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $438.17. 216,858 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 194,012. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $476.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $498.34.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Murphy USA

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.