VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Acquires New Shares in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 3,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,724,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Murphy USA by 49,904.6% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 10,410,968 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,610,158,000 after purchasing an additional 10,390,148 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $915,734,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 149.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,753,000 after purchasing an additional 304,354 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,267,000 after buying an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 318,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $128,511,000 after buying an additional 99,798 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total value of $52,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,947.20. This trade represents a 28.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:MUSA opened at $523.09 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $349.83 and a 52 week high of $636.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $568.13 and a 200 day moving average of $532.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.25.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.36 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen raised Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Zacks Research cut Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $606.89.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc (NYSE:MUSA) operates a network of retail fuel stations and convenience stores in the United States. Its locations primarily serve motorists and local communities, offering gasoline and diesel fuel along with convenience merchandise.

The company’s stores sell products such as tobacco, nicotine products, beverages, snacks, packaged food, and other general merchandise. Many locations also provide prepared food and other convenience services, with product offerings designed to complement the company’s fuel business.

Murphy USA was established as an independent publicly traded company in 2013 following its separation from Murphy Oil Corporation.