BlackRock Inc. Takes $915.73 Million Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 1.70 million Murphy USA shares worth approximately $915.7 million, giving it a 9.2% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 80.81% of the company.
• Murphy USA reported quarterly earnings of $11.27 per share, exceeding estimates of $9.95, while revenue rose 36% year over year to $6.81 billion.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.65 per share, equivalent to an annualized $2.60 dividend and a 0.5% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $606.89.

BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,699,360 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $915,734,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 9.20% of Murphy USA as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 148.5% during the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.5% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $567.65 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $349.83 and a 52-week high of $636.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $576.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $519.25.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%.The business had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.36 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. This represents a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 449 shares in the company, valued at $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 5,016 shares of company stock worth $2,750,098. Insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Murphy USA from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $606.89.

About Murphy USA

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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