Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors cut its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 57.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 79,625 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 109,039 shares during the period. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Murphy USA were worth $32,130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 10.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,245. This represents a 50.84% 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. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392. Insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $556.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 1.79 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $609.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $532.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.91.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.32 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a dividend of $0.64 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.71.

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.