Armistice Capital LLC Invests $5.83 Million in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Armistice Capital LLC invested approximately $5.83 million in Murphy USA Inc. by purchasing 12,408 shares, which represents a 0.06% ownership stake as of their latest SEC filing.
• Murphy USA recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.50 to $0.53 per share, with the dividend yield now at 0.6%.
• The company's stock has seen varied analyst ratings, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $476.29.

Armistice Capital LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 12,408 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,829,000. Armistice Capital LLC owned about 0.06% of Murphy USA at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,231,000 after purchasing an additional 552,872 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 442,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $207,717,000 after purchasing an additional 22,733 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 94.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $174,613,000 after purchasing an additional 180,055 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,373 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $126,065,000 after purchasing an additional 46,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 61.5% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $118,662,000 after purchasing an additional 96,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on MUSA. Stephens dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $476.29.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded up $1.90 during trading on Thursday, hitting $373.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 242,628 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,659. The company has a market capitalization of $7.20 billion, a PE ratio of 15.45 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $399.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $437.64.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $5.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $45,337,979.58. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.12% of the stock is owned by 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.