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

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the first quarter worth approximately $799,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 2,594.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 142,038 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $66,731,000 after buying an additional 136,766 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,453 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,562,000 after buying an additional 314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,505,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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 research report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $476.29.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded down $0.13 on Monday, reaching $390.07. 56,644 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 293,817. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The firm has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average of $395.46 and a 200-day moving average of $433.25.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.