Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Sells 4,126 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 21.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,407 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,126 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $5,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter worth about $752,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth approximately $147,000. Texas Yale Capital Corp. grew its position in Murphy USA by 23.2% during the third quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 5,931 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,303,000 after buying an additional 1,117 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its position in Murphy USA by 5.4% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 6,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,418,000 after buying an additional 319 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.4% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 144,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,197,000 after buying an additional 2,026 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $389.93 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $413.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $392.43. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $523.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a PE ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.96 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price target on Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,503.68. The trade was a 49.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.09, for a total transaction of $470,643.71. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,288,355.43. This represents a 17.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,935 shares of company stock worth $4,248,945 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.