Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.53

Key Points

• Murphy USA Inc. declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, representing a 6.0% increase from its previous dividend of $0.50.
• The company has a dividend payout ratio of 7.2%, indicating that it can adequately cover its dividend with earnings.
• Murphy USA's stock is currently trading at $389.13, with a market capitalization of $7.51 billion and a twelve-month price range between $345.23 and $561.08.

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 14th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.53 per share by the specialty retailer on Thursday, September 4th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This is a 6.0% increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50.

Murphy USA has a dividend payout ratio of 7.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Murphy USA to earn $28.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.0%.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA traded up $12.38 on Tuesday, hitting $402.91. The stock had a trading volume of 13,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 293,979. The stock has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $406.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $446.57. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $561.08.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,231,000 after buying an additional 552,872 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 491,641 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $200,000,000 after buying an additional 95,259 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 446,654 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $181,732,000 after buying an additional 3,447 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 5.4% in the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 442,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $207,717,000 after buying an additional 22,733 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 94.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $174,613,000 after purchasing an additional 180,055 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

About Murphy USA

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.