The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Raises Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. by 902.2%, owning approximately $71.98 million worth of shares following the purchase of an additional 137,915 shares.
• Murphy USA announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, a rise from the previous $0.50, with a yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 8.78%.
• The company's stock has experienced a fifty-two week range of $345.23 to $561.08, with an average price target set at $476.29 by analysts.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 902.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,202 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 137,915 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.77% of Murphy USA worth $71,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Brant Point Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $1,856,000. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 140.3% during the 1st quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd. now owns 5,227 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,461,000 after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Murphy USA by 265.4% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 26,489 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $12,445,000 after acquiring an additional 19,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 15,772 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,410,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA traded up $12.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $385.66. The stock had a trading volume of 113,771 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,187. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $398.63 and a 200 day moving average of $436.86. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $476.29.

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.