Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 2,112 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 5.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,112 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.18% of Murphy USA worth $13,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keybank National Association OH lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 5.3% in the third quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 2,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC now owns 15,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,951,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 5,555 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $438,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total transaction of $9,431,434.89. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 131,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,963,381.92. The trade was a 15.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total transaction of $1,721,675.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $49,890,325. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $17,349,722 over the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.1%

Murphy USA stock opened at $443.89 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $523.09. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $414.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $393.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 0.38.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday. Stephens lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $425.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $467.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $460.33.

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.