Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Reduces Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 297,306 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,452 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $146,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth about $11,879,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Murphy USA by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 86,420 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $42,689,000 after purchasing an additional 24,296 shares during the period. Independent Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the first quarter worth about $317,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 3.4% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 149,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,633,000 after purchasing an additional 4,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 23.2% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 13,122 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,482,000 after buying an additional 2,469 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $613.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $566.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $499.57. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total transaction of $94,879.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total value of $24,773,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 342,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $204,286,875.52. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392. Insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Zacks Research cut Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $585.11.

Murphy USA Company 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.