VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Makes New $1.50 Million Investment in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• The Virginia Retirement Systems has made a new investment in Murphy USA Inc., acquiring 3,697 shares valued at approximately $1.50 million in the second quarter.
• Murphy USA's recent quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $7.36, surpassing estimates, despite a year-over-year revenue drop of 8.2%.
• The company's board recently approved a dividend increase from $0.50 to $0.53 per share, reflecting a 0.6% yield.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,697 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,504,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,538 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,663,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 70,888 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $33,305,000 after purchasing an additional 2,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $374.57 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $383.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $419.28. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The business had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.92 EPS. Murphy USA's revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $405.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, 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 note on Friday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $477.33.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased 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 directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,337,979.58. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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.

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