Strategic Investment Advisors MI Cuts Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Strategic Investment Advisors MI reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 5.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 629 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. Strategic Investment Advisors MI’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. CX Institutional purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at about $59,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $67,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 63.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 18.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 203 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Stephens decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $526.29.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock opened at $406.05 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $449.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $473.38. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 17.13 and a beta of 0.50. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $385.44 and a one year high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.19% and a net margin of 2.46%. The business’s revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.44%.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, Director David C. Haley acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $435,580. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

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.