New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 9.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 17,875 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,955 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $8,830,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at $6,874,000. Millennium Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $1,029,000. Evergreen Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $1,333,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,638 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $24,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at $2,421,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded up $8.55 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $571.62. 25,152 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 343,652. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $554.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $480.06. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $636.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.3 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 issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend 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 payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $571.22.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. This represents a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $287,245. The trade was a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392. Insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

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.