King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 5,404 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

King Luther Capital Management Corp cut its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 29,016 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,404 shares during the quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $11,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 1,925.0% during the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 251.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 109 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $457.50.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total value of $139,669.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,503.68. The trade was a 49.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total transaction of $1,721,675.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,890,325. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,935 shares of company stock valued at $4,248,945. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $396.16 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $413.86 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $392.06. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $523.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 10.38%.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.