Numerai GP LLC Has $3.20 Million Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Numerai GP LLC lessened its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,251 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,097 shares during the quarter. Numerai GP LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,204,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Verus Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 568 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.7% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,739 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.9% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $472,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $459.83 on Tuesday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $417.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $396.63. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $523.09. The firm has a market cap of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.40.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The company’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.96 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 10.38%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total transaction of $139,669.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 352 shares in the company, valued at $142,503.68. This trade represents a 49.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total value of $343,894.47. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,970 shares of company stock worth $6,212,365. Company insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Stephens dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped 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. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price objective on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $429.00.

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.