Truist Financial Corp Cuts Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 19.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,588 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,141 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,154,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 141.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 777.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $69,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 82.1% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $94,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock opened at $484.26 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $350.55 and a 52-week high of $552.30. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $505.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $468.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.55%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on 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 Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Raymond James raised their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $464.57.

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.