National Bank of Canada FI Sells 47 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

National Bank of Canada FI decreased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 771 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 47 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 35,240 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,369,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter worth $1,573,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $4,566,000. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 22.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,133,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,011 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,543,000 after buying an additional 12,336 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $550.90 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $350.55 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $511.90 and its 200-day moving average is $498.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 0.78.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.69 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MUSA. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $495.33.

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.