Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by International Assets Investment Management LLC

International Assets Investment Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 99.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 789 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 388,085 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MUSA. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth approximately $465,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 82.1% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 65.0% during the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 1,556 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $730,000 after acquiring an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 10.9% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,169,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $489.68 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $350.55 and a one year high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.20 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $523.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $504.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.40.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.