Hsbc Holdings PLC Raises Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 74.1% in the first quarter, acquiring a total of 6,237 shares valued at approximately $2.9 million.
• Murphy USA's stock recently experienced multiple analyst downgrades, with adjusted target prices down to a range between $350 and $480.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53, marking an increase from its previous dividend of $0.50, with a current yield of 0.6%.

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 74.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,237 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,654 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 552,872 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 94.0% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $174,613,000 after buying an additional 180,055 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 96,200 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth $30,968,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 21.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,373 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $126,065,000 after buying an additional 46,677 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $476.29.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.5%

MUSA traded up $1.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $376.32. 219,027 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 318,278. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $401.85 and a 200 day moving average of $439.69. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The business had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.92 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.