Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Bought by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. by 21.8% during the first quarter, now owning 32,700 shares valued at approximately $15.36 million.
• Murphy USA reported earnings per share of $7.36 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $6.82, although revenue fell 8.2% year-over-year.
• The company also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.53 per share, reflecting a 0.5% dividend yield for shareholders.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 21.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,854 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.17% of Murphy USA worth $15,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,954 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,482,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,171 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 213.5% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 31,008 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $15,559,000 after buying an additional 21,118 shares during the period. Mariner LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 6,873 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,448,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 8,938 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,485,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $476.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at $142,830,015.72. This represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $717,982.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This trade 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 owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded down $11.5310 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $382.6990. 50,303 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 293,064. 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 market cap of $7.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.86 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $405.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $445.87. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $561.08.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

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.