Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 51,125 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 27.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 134,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 51,125 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $52,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 10.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Murphy USA by 2,283.8% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 69,797 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,393,000 after buying an additional 66,869 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1,925.0% in the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 8.1% in the second quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 4,814 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,958,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Finally, Bryn Mawr Trust Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $5,876,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $438.02 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $412.52 and its 200 day moving average is $393.68. The firm has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.40. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $523.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. The business 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 firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.96 EPS. Research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.19, for a total transaction of $456,444.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,778.17. The trade was a 42.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total transaction of $1,105,206.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,198,084.63. This trade represents a 47.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 14,833 shares of company stock valued at $6,154,491 in the last three months. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of 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, 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 report on Friday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.50.

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.