Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Raises Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,687 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 674 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,670,297 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $533,953,000 after acquiring an additional 35,610 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 23.6% during the 1st quarter. FMR LLC now owns 498,219 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $128,565,000 after buying an additional 95,078 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 452,115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $140,657,000 after buying an additional 11,108 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 76.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 379,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $106,194,000 after buying an additional 164,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 355,479 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $99,371,000 after buying an additional 80,791 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $362.03 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $355.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.38. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.65 and a twelve month high of $382.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market cap of $7.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 0.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The specialty retailer reported $7.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.08 by $1.61. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 71.06%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.83 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 22.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 6th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 3rd. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 6.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $410.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 26th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $362.00 to $360.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.00.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.69, for a total transaction of $11,000,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 412,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $151,104,515.13. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 32,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $311.23, for a total transaction of $10,013,202.79. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,758,446.67. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $366.69, for a total transaction of $11,000,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 412,077 shares in the company, valued at $151,104,515.13. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.04% 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. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.