Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Holdings Lowered by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,195 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 75 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 186.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Melius started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA opened at $480.64 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $471.45 and a 200-day moving average of $494.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $382.04 and a 12-month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

Murphy USA Company 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.