United Services Automobile Association Takes $536,000 Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. worth approximately $536,000 by purchasing 1,165 shares in the first quarter.
• Murphy USA reported earnings of $7.36 per share, exceeding expectations, with a revenue of $5.01 billion for the last quarter, which was below analyst predictions.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.53, marking a boost from the previous rate of $0.50, alongside an annualized yield of 0.5%.

United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,165 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at about $241,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $40,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter worth $3,683,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 21.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in Murphy USA by 81.9% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 1,812 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of 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, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $476.29.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $45,337,979.58. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded down $3.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $390.21. 304,083 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 265,616. The stock has a market cap of $7.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $395.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $433.63. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Murphy USA 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.