Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. Buys 22,733 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 5.4%, increasing its holdings to 442,130 shares, valued at approximately $207.7 million.
• Murphy USA announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.50 to $0.53 per share, reflecting a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders.
• The company's recent earnings surpassed expectations with $7.36 EPS reported, though revenue showed a decline of 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 5.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 442,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 22,733 shares during the quarter. Murphy USA makes up 0.8% of Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 2.23% of Murphy USA worth $207,717,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,231,000 after purchasing an additional 552,872 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 94.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $174,613,000 after acquiring an additional 180,055 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Murphy USA by 21.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,373 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $126,065,000 after acquiring an additional 46,677 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 61.5% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $118,662,000 after acquiring an additional 96,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Murphy USA by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 212,247 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $106,495,000 after acquiring an additional 41,295 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded down $6.7270 during trading on Friday, reaching $377.8730. The company's stock had a trading volume of 461,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,212. The firm's 50-day moving average is $404.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $444.10. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $561.08. 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 company has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65 and a beta of 0.42.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.92 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.28%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,580. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 $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. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of 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. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $476.29.

Murphy USA 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.