Deutsche Bank AG Reduces Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 30.4%, selling 5,088 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with approximately 11,664 shares valued at $5.48 million.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on Murphy USA, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $476.29, despite some recent downgrades from various research firms.
• Murphy USA recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.53 per share, appealing to shareholders with an annualized yield of 0.5%.

Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 30.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,664 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,088 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.06% of Murphy USA worth $5,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 53,469.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,231,000 after purchasing an additional 552,872 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 61.5% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $118,662,000 after purchasing an additional 96,200 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 363.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 54,471 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,331,000 after purchasing an additional 42,712 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 212,247 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $106,495,000 after purchasing an additional 41,295 shares during the period. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $20,070,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens cut their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp cut their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $476.29.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock traded down $5.4710 during trading on Thursday, reaching $388.7590. The company's stock had a trading volume of 12,246 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,809. The company has a market capitalization of $7.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.42. The company's fifty day moving average is $405.53 and its 200-day moving average is $445.87. 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 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders 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 positive change 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 (DPR) is 8.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David C. Haley acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.