TCW Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Key Points

• TCW Group Inc. reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 8.2%, selling 1,194 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with 13,418 shares worth approximately $6.3 million.
• Murphy USA recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.49 to $0.50 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.47% and a payout ratio of 8.44%.
• The company missed earnings expectations for the last quarter, reporting $2.63 per share compared to the estimated $3.87, while also seeing a 6.6% decrease in revenue year-over-year.

TCW Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,418 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,194 shares during the quarter. TCW Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Murphy USA worth $6,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 39,228 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $19,683,000 after buying an additional 3,040 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,364 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,486 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 45.8% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,736 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,380,000 after purchasing an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 248.9% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 5,240 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,629,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth approximately $112,741,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA traded down $25.79 on Thursday, reaching $382.24. 560,194 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 287,457. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06 and a beta of 0.48. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $420.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $457.21. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $368.40 and a 52-week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.19% and a net margin of 2.46%. Murphy USA's revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director David C. Haley bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $435.58 per share, with a total value of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $435,580. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on 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 downgraded Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $519.86.

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.