Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Lowers Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 25.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 293,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 100,980 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $137,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1,091.4% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,063,000 after buying an additional 13,250 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter worth $1,258,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Murphy USA by 21.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $8,949,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in Murphy USA by 10.3% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $496.47 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $338.80 and a 12-month high of $552.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $510.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $461.19.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.55%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $464.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at $196,971,533.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 over the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is 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.