Bessemer Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. cut its Murphy USA stake by 32% in the fourth quarter, selling 29,225 shares and leaving it with 62,124 shares worth about $25.1 million.
• Murphy USA reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $7.28 versus the $5.37 estimate and revenue of $4.82 billion, up 6.5% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share from $0.63, while analysts maintained a generally positive stance with an average rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,124 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 29,225 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.33% of Murphy USA worth $25,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Flavin Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,898 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $766,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Murphy USA by 33.7% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 555 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its position in Murphy USA by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,459 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 726 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Enhancing Capital LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $563.14 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $609.82. The company has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $505.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $435.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.8 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MUSA. Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. 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 given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total transaction of $94,879.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $285,838. This represents a 24.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total value of $343,894.47. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,693 shares of company stock worth $26,832,139. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Profile

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.

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