Victory Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 157,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 23,144 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.77% of Murphy USA worth $77,579,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 24.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 13,127 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,470,000 after buying an additional 2,574 shares during the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.9% in the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 861 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Meridian Management Co. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 2.1% during the third quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 2,452 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.8% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE MUSA opened at $527.97 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $350.55 and a 52 week high of $552.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The company has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $496.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $480.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.69 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $495.33.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.