DRW Securities LLC Makes New Investment in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• DRW Securities LLC has acquired 950 shares of Murphy USA Inc. valued at approximately $446,000, signaling growing interest in the specialty retailer.
• Murphy USA recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.50 to $0.53 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 0.6%.
• Analysts have downgraded Murphy USA's stock ratings, with Wall Street Zen lowering it from "buy" to "hold," and several firms adjusting their price targets significantly.

DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $446,000.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MUSA. Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $476.29.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the company's 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 owned 117,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $376.32 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $401.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $439.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The stock has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.44.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.92 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

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.

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