Washington Capital Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 800 Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Washington Capital Management Inc. purchased 800 shares of Murphy USA Inc., valued at approximately $325,000, marking a new investment in the company during the 2nd quarter.
• A variety of institutional investors have increased their stakes in Murphy USA, with Millennium Management LLC growing its position by over 2,594%, owning now 142,038 shares valued at $66.7 million.
• Murphy USA announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.50 to $0.53, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.5% for its shareholders.

Washington Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 800 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $66,731,000 after buying an additional 136,766 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $241,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth $40,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth $3,683,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $568,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $483.17.

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 transaction of $717,982.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $391.77 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.22 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $388.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $428.27. 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 Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $561.08.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. The business 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 company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.78%.

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.

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