Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Stock Purchased by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 90.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,080 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,880 shares during the quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MUSA. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $915,734,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth about $78,372,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 23.2% during the first quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 146,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $71,986,000 after buying an additional 27,513 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 21,322.2% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 103,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,526,000 after acquiring an additional 102,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at about $54,143,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $513.88 on Tuesday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $523.77 and a 200 day moving average of $515.26. The company has a market capitalization of $9.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.29. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $352.42 and a 52-week high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The specialty retailer reported $9.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.37 by $1.22. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 96.37%. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.07%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 449 shares in the company, valued at $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total transaction of $52,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 252 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on MUSA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Murphy USA from $612.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $633.00 to $626.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.33.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc is a U.S. operator of retail fuel and convenience stores. The company sells gasoline and diesel fuel along with tobacco products, packaged beverages, snacks, candy, grocery items, general merchandise and other convenience products. Many locations also offer prepared food and related services.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, with a network concentrated primarily in the Southern, Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Murphy USA locations are commonly situated near Walmart stores, while Murphy Express sites generally operate as standalone convenience stores.