Primecap Management Co. CA Takes Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,111 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,298,000. Primecap Management Co. CA owned approximately 0.10% of Murphy USA at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 82.5% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% 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 Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $532.05 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 0.28. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $349.83 and a one year high of $636.04. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $574.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $522.50.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%.The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Capital One Financial started coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.89.

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.