Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Stock Position Decreased by Flavin Financial Services Inc.

Flavin Financial Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 19.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,232 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 299 shares during the quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 94.0% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $174,613,000 after purchasing an additional 180,055 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 902.2% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 153,202 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,976,000 after purchasing an additional 137,915 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 2,594.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 142,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $66,731,000 after purchasing an additional 136,766 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 61.5% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $118,662,000 after purchasing an additional 96,200 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,968,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.3%

Murphy USA stock opened at $388.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.49 billion, a PE ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $384.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $421.04. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.92 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $480.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $477.33.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.