Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Purchased by Segment Wealth Management LLC

Segment Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 7.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 745 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $303,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.3% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,697 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,267,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 63.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 14.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 21.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $568,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $59,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $394.42 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $561.08. 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 company has a market capitalization of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.33 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $385.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $426.63.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The company had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MUSA. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. This trade represents a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Profile

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.