Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Purchases 2,469 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 23.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,122 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,469 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $6,482,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MUSA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 82.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 82.5% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $618.94 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The company has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.30. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $345.23 and a 12 month high of $636.04. The business’s 50-day moving average is $562.39 and its 200 day moving average is $491.57.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $579.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total value of $94,879.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392. 9.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.