State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Lowers Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Murphy USA by 10.6%, holding 5,908 shares worth approximately $2.78 million after selling 701 shares in Q1.
• Murphy USA announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.53 per share, up from $0.50, with the payout scheduled for September 4th.
• Despite reporting strong quarterly earnings of $7.36 EPS—beating estimates—the company's revenue declined by 8.2% year-over-year.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 10.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,908 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 701 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,776,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 purchasing an additional 552,872 shares in 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 purchasing an additional 180,055 shares in 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 purchasing an additional 96,200 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake 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 purchasing an additional 46,677 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Stephens reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial lowered Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $476.29.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA stock traded up $5.83 on Tuesday, reaching $378.13. The stock had a trading volume of 281,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 383,443. The stock has a market cap of $7.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 0.42. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year 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 company has a 50 day simple moving average of $403.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $442.02.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. 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 presently 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,830,015.72. This represents a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.