Numerai GP LLC Sells 2,097 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Numerai GP LLC reduced its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,251 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,097 shares during the quarter. Numerai GP LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Murphy USA by 3.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,705 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $51,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 13.7% in the second quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 74,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,473,000 after buying an additional 9,051 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its position in Murphy USA by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 138,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,967,000 after acquiring an additional 23,349 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Murphy USA by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VELA Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 200.8% during the third quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 6,714 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 4,482 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $395.19, for a total transaction of $456,444.45. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,778.17. This represents a 42.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total value of $139,669.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,503.68. The trade was a 49.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,970 shares of company stock valued at $6,212,365. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.7%

MUSA opened at $459.83 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The stock has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.40. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $523.09. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $417.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $396.63.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Bank of America initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $429.00.

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.