Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 25,548 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $13,767,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.14% of Murphy USA as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Huntington National Bank lifted 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Murphy USA

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy USA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2026 EPS estimate to $34.46 from $30.15, above the broader consensus of $33.84. Estimates also increased for Q3 2026 to $8.27 from $7.33, Q4 2026 to $7.65 from $7.24, and Q1 2027 to $3.99 from $3.63. These revisions suggest stronger near-term earnings expectations. Murphy USA analyst estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-range estimates were also lifted: FY2027 EPS rose to $28.82 from $27.38, FY2028 EPS increased to $29.59 from $28.37, and Q3 2027 EPS jumped to $9.51 from $7.28. Higher forecasts could support the investment case if Murphy USA delivers the projected profitability. Murphy USA long-term earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis expects fuel margins to remain high during the second half of 2026, potentially benefiting Murphy USA’s fuel-led retail model and supporting the improved 2026 forecasts. Murphy USA: Expect High Fuel Margins For H2'26
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the estimate increases, Zacks Research continues to rate MUSA “Hold,” indicating that analysts do not see enough evidence for a more bullish recommendation at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered its Q2 2027 EPS forecast to $8.73 from $9.53 and its Q4 2027 forecast to $6.59 from $6.94. These cuts highlight some expected volatility in future earnings and temper the otherwise favorable revisions.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $502.99 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $572.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $524.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $349.83 and a 12 month high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. Murphy USA's quarterly revenue was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $619.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. KeyCorp upped their price objective 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 raised shares of Murphy USA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Murphy USA from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $606.89.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 449 shares in the company, valued at $256,774.12. This represents a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source