858 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Bought by Blair William & Co. IL

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL purchased 858 shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) valued at approximately $349,000 in the second quarter.
• Murphy USA announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53, an increase from its previous dividend, representing an annual yield of 0.5% and a payout ratio of 8.78%.
• The company's stock has a market cap of $7.49 billion and recent earnings results show a beat on EPS estimates, reporting $7.36 compared to a consensus of $6.82.

Blair William & Co. IL bought a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 858 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $349,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its stake in Murphy USA by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 489 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,000,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Murphy USA by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,473 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,101,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $741,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Applied Capital LLC FL raised its stake in Murphy USA by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 557 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $388.42 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $384.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $421.45. The firm has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.42.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The firm had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.92 EPS. Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $717,982.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $405.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $477.33.

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.

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