Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 340.7% during the 2nd quarter, acquiring a total of 7,778 shares valued at approximately $3.16 million.
• Murphy USA reported earnings per share of $7.36 for the latest quarter, beating analyst estimates, although its revenue fell 8.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.53 per share, up from $0.50, representing an annualized yield of 0.6%.

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 340.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,778 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 6,013 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $241,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $40,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $3,683,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 81.9% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,812 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $382.85 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.44. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $392.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $430.82.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $6.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $483.17.

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.

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