Baird Financial Group Inc. Trims Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 4.4% in Q1, owning 107,282 shares worth $50.4 million after selling nearly 5,000 shares.
• Murphy USA is seeing mixed analyst ratings, with Wells Fargo and Stephens lowering their price targets, while Zacks upgraded its rating from "strong sell" to "hold."
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.6%, with a payout ratio of just 8.78%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,282 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 4,926 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Murphy USA worth $50,402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 552,872 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 5.4% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 442,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $207,717,000 after buying an additional 22,733 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Murphy USA by 94.0% during 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $118,662,000 after acquiring an additional 96,200 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded up $1.18 during trading on Thursday, reaching $372.46. The stock had a trading volume of 132,610 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,581. 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 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The stock has a market cap of $7.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $399.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $437.64.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.92 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased 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 owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 value of $717,982.98. Following 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Stephens lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One research 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 given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $476.29.

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.