JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 180,055 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 94% during the first quarter, owning 371,667 shares now worth approximately $174.6 million.
• Murphy USA reported a quarterly EPS of $7.36, exceeding estimates, but its revenue declined by 8.2% year-over-year to $5.01 billion.
• Murphy USA has announced a dividend increase to $0.53 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.5%, with a payout ratio of 8.28%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 94.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 180,055 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.88% of Murphy USA worth $174,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,231,000 after buying an additional 552,872 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $118,662,000 after buying an additional 96,200 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Murphy USA by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 212,247 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $106,495,000 after buying an additional 41,295 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 144,973 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $72,301,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 144,202 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $67,748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of MUSA traded up $8.0350 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $398.5650. The stock had a trading volume of 35,998 shares, compared to its average volume of 294,072. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $406.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $446.57. The firm has a market cap of $7.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.17 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.92 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is 8.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $476.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $435.58 per share, with a total value of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

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.