Koshinski Asset Management Inc. Makes New $215,000 Investment in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 5.4% during the 1st quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 442,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $207,717,000 after acquiring an additional 22,733 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 94.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,613,000 after acquiring an additional 180,055 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 21.1% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,373 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $126,065,000 after acquiring an additional 46,677 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $118,662,000 after acquiring an additional 96,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 902.2% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 153,202 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $71,976,000 after acquiring an additional 137,915 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.2%

Murphy USA stock opened at $371.68 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $384.26 and its 200 day moving average is $419.59. The company has a market capitalization of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.42.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. 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 company earned $6.92 EPS. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 389,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $477.33.

Murphy USA Company 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.