Swiss National Bank Reduces Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Swiss National Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 2.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 35,207 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 960 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $17,391,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 148.5% during the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.5%

MUSA stock opened at $613.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $345.23 and a 12 month high of $636.04. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $566.52 and its 200 day moving average is $499.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on MUSA. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Bank of America raised 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. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Capital One Financial started coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $585.11.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $287,245. This trade represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total value of $24,773,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at $204,286,875.52. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 Company 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.