SG Americas Securities LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

SG Americas Securities LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 69.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,834 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,222 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $861,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MUSA. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $81,560,000. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 518.9% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 74,770 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,660,000 after purchasing an additional 62,688 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $24,493,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $8,949,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1,827.2% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 20,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,346,000 after buying an additional 19,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.50.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.5 %

MUSA opened at $511.48 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $486.71 and its 200-day moving average is $439.33. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $307.45 and a 52-week high of $521.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.02 EPS. Analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,818,436.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,455 shares of company stock worth $20,492,084 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.