Caxton Associates LLP Purchases Shares of 1,700 Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP invested approximately $799,000 in Murphy USA Inc., acquiring 1,700 shares during the 1st quarter of the year.
• Murphy USA reported $7.36 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, but experienced a revenue decline of 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.53 per share, representing an annualized yield of 0.6%.

Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $799,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. GW&K Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. TCTC Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth about $40,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of MUSA traded down $3.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $390.21. 304,083 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 265,616. The firm has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $395.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $433.43. 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 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $561.08.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is 8.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. This represents a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.