New York State Teachers Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in Murphy USA by 8.6% in Q4, selling 1,861 shares and leaving it with 19,830 shares worth about $8.0 million (0.11% of the company).
• Several other institutions sharply increased positions — e.g., Barclays (+318.6% to 424,818 shares) and AllianceBernstein (+676.7% to 170,215 shares) — with hedge funds and institutions now owning about 80.81% of the stock.
• Murphy USA beat quarterly expectations (EPS $7.28 vs. $5.37 estimate; revenue $4.82B) while insiders sold roughly 6,952 shares (~$2.7M) last quarter, and analysts hold a consensus Moderate Buy with a $503.71 target.

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,830 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,861 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.11% of Murphy USA worth $8,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 318.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $164,940,000 after purchasing an additional 323,331 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 676.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $69,243,000 after buying an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1,723.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 132,450 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $53,446,000 after buying an additional 125,185 shares in the last quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 4,972.5% in the third quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 100,942 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $39,192,000 after buying an additional 98,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 66.0% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 203,064 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $78,842,000 after buying an additional 80,702 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,155 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.19, for a total transaction of $456,444.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,778.17. This trade represents a 42.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 137 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.44, for a total transaction of $57,874.28. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 6,952 shares of company stock valued at $2,705,540 in the last quarter. Insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $503.71.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $604.14 on Wednesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $605.42. The stock has a market cap of $11.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $476.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $425.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. Murphy USA's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 30.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.71%.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company's primary operations center on two retail formats.

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