Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 76.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,902 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 25,771 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 318.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $164,940,000 after purchasing an additional 323,331 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 298,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $116,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 66.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 203,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $78,842,000 after purchasing an additional 80,702 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.9% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 188,664 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,251,000 after purchasing an additional 7,145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 676.7% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,243,000 after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,155 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $395.19, for a total transaction of $456,444.45. Following the sale, the director owned 1,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,778.17. The trade was a 42.81% 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, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total value of $24,773,840.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,286,875.52. This trade represents a 10.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,210 shares of company stock valued at $27,129,150. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA opened at $544.32 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $517.81 and its 200-day moving average is $442.08. The stock has a market cap of $10.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $609.82.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.71.

Key Murphy USA News

Here are the key news stories impacting Murphy USA this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Murphy USA was included in Zacks momentum screens and “stocks trading near 52-week high” lists, suggesting strong price action and continued bullish sentiment from momentum investors. Micron & 2 Other Momentum Stocks to Buy Now for Big Upside
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added MUSA to its Rank #1 (Strong Buy) list, which can improve investor confidence and support buying pressure. New Strong Buy Stocks for May 21st
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised several forward earnings estimates for Murphy USA, including Q2 2026, Q2 2027 and Q3 2027 EPS, reinforcing a constructive longer-term earnings outlook despite a few mixed revisions.
• Neutral Sentiment: One Zacks note trimmed Q1 2027 EPS estimates slightly and another lowered Q4 2027 estimates, but the firm kept a Strong-Buy rating, so the overall tone remained favorable.
• Neutral Sentiment: A Yahoo Finance valuation check focused on Murphy USA’s strong buy rating, dividend update and capital return plans, but the headline itself did not indicate a major new catalyst. Murphy USA (MUSA) Valuation Check After Strong Buy Rating Dividend Update And Capital Return Plans

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.