Quantitative Investment Management LLC Takes $512,000 Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased 1,090 shares of Murphy USA Inc. in the first quarter, valued at approximately $512,000.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Murphy USA, with consensus pricing set at $476.29, reflecting a downgrade in price targets from various firms.
• Murphy USA announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.53 per share, reflecting a positive change in shareholder returns.

Quantitative Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,090 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $512,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,231,000 after buying an additional 552,872 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 94.0% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $174,613,000 after buying an additional 180,055 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 61.5% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $118,662,000 after buying an additional 96,200 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at $30,968,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 21.1% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,373 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $126,065,000 after buying an additional 46,677 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $476.29.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $376.32. 219,027 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 288,422. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $401.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $439.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.44.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The business had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.92 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.12% of the stock is owned by company 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.