Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,555 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 15,801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,418,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter worth approximately $799,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $94,000. Davidson Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 20.4% in the second quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,216 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,388,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 22.6% during the 2nd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 3,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,461,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MUSA. Raymond James upped their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $464.57.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $496.39 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $509.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $464.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $339.96 and a 1 year high of $552.30. The firm has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 7.55%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $203,955,423.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Murphy USA 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.