12,336 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Bought by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm bought 12,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $6,648,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter worth about $915,734,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 149.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,753,000 after buying an additional 304,354 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,267,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 318,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $128,511,000 after acquiring an additional 99,798 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 300,758 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $121,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Murphy USA

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy USA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised its FY2026 EPS estimate to $34.46 from $30.15, above the broader consensus of $33.84. Estimates also increased for Q3 2026 to $8.27 from $7.33, Q4 2026 to $7.65 from $7.24, and Q1 2027 to $3.99 from $3.63. These revisions suggest stronger near-term earnings expectations. Murphy USA analyst estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Longer-range estimates were also lifted: FY2027 EPS rose to $28.82 from $27.38, FY2028 EPS increased to $29.59 from $28.37, and Q3 2027 EPS jumped to $9.51 from $7.28. Higher forecasts could support the investment case if Murphy USA delivers the projected profitability. Murphy USA long-term earnings estimates
• Positive Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha analysis expects fuel margins to remain high during the second half of 2026, potentially benefiting Murphy USA’s fuel-led retail model and supporting the improved 2026 forecasts. Murphy USA: Expect High Fuel Margins For H2’26
• Neutral Sentiment: Despite the estimate increases, Zacks Research continues to rate MUSA “Hold,” indicating that analysts do not see enough evidence for a more bullish recommendation at present.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research lowered its Q2 2027 EPS forecast to $8.73 from $9.53 and its Q4 2027 forecast to $6.59 from $6.94. These cuts highlight some expected volatility in future earnings and temper the otherwise favorable revisions.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $502.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $572.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $524.36. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $349.83 and a fifty-two week high of $636.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.36 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MUSA shares. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.89.

Murphy USA 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.