Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Rhumbline Advisers

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,209 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 142 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.27% of Murphy USA worth $21,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,925.0% in the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp cut their price target on Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $474.00.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.8%

MUSA stock opened at $385.13 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $377.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $397.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.60 by $0.65. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The company had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.11 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.20 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total value of $9,431,434.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 131,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,963,381.92. This trade represents a 15.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Profile

Murphy USA Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.