SG Americas Securities LLC Sells 127,811 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

SG Americas Securities LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 96.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 127,811 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at about $227,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Up 3.7%

Murphy USA stock opened at $558.74 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market cap of $10.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $552.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $476.79. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $573.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total value of $555,912.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. This trade represents a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total transaction of $94,879.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 476 shares in the company, valued at $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Profile

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.