Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Stock: Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Trims Stake

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC reduced its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 11.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,061 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Kenora Financial LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 3.3% during the first quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 2.6% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 826 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 3.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 3.2% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total value of $52,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,947.20. This represents a 28.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $619.00 to $612.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $633.00 to $626.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $605.33.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.5%

NYSE:MUSA opened at $534.56 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $349.83 and a twelve month high of $636.04. The company has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.29. The company’s 50 day moving average is $527.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $547.86.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.36 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.89 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc is a U.S. operator of retail fuel and convenience stores. The company sells gasoline and diesel fuel along with tobacco products, packaged beverages, snacks, candy, grocery items, general merchandise and other convenience products. Many locations also offer prepared food and related services.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, with a network concentrated primarily in the Southern, Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Murphy USA locations are commonly situated near Walmart stores, while Murphy Express sites generally operate as standalone convenience stores.