Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $52.18 Million Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 27.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 134,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 51,125 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.72% of Murphy USA worth $52,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew 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 valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,638 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $24,708,000 after acquiring an additional 3,614 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth about $3,636,000. Xponance Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,739 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,452,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $474,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total transaction of $343,894.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total value of $1,105,206.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 14,833 shares of company stock valued at $6,154,491 in the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $438.02 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $523.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $412.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $393.68. The company has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.94 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MUSA shares. Bank of America started coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens cut 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. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price target on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $457.50.

Murphy USA 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.