Vanguard Group Inc. Has $646.20 Million Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,601,401 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 65,791 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 8.55% of Murphy USA worth $646,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 318.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $164,940,000 after acquiring an additional 323,331 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 298,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $116,029,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 66.0% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 203,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $78,842,000 after buying an additional 80,702 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 188,664 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,251,000 after purchasing an additional 7,145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 676.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,243,000 after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

More Murphy USA News

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy USA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results materially beat expectations — EPS of $7.28 vs. consensus ~$5.37, fuel contribution and merchandise margins both improved, and the company continued buybacks and a dividend; these operational beats are the primary driver of the rally. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and model raises: Zacks moved MUSA to a stronger recommendation and several shops (KeyCorp, Zacks team) have nudged EPS and longer-term estimates higher, supporting a higher valuation case. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Momentum / market interest: coverage pieces note MUSA at a 52‑week high and classify it as a strong momentum/growth stock — that can attract momentum and quant flows. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinions and price targets are mixed — KeyCorp and some shops have $600+ targets while the median across recent reports is below the current price, producing both upside and tail‑risk narratives for different investors. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo set an “equal weight” stance and raised its target to $520 — still below the current market level — which could cap further upside from some institutional holders. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy in recent months (multiple senior exec sales), which some investors view as a governance or near-term sentiment risk. Read More.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $595.84 on Monday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $472.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $423.55. The company has a market cap of $11.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $597.16.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 29.66 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 8.71%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 137 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.44, for a total transaction of $57,874.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the business’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 value of $1,105,206.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,198,084.63. This represents a 47.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,919 shares of company stock valued at $4,490,690. Insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. Stephens reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.71.

About Murphy USA

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.