Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stake Lessened by Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,567 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 513 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 15.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $369,208,000 after acquiring an additional 140,879 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 30.8% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 308,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $105,389,000 after purchasing an additional 72,537 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,241,000 after purchasing an additional 269,159 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 192,574 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $65,808,000 after purchasing an additional 1,053 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total transaction of $627,415.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,098,491.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582 over the last three months. 9.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.60.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of MUSA traded down $9.72 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $413.82. The stock had a trading volume of 246,366 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,241. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $268.69 and a fifty-two week high of $430.83. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $415.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $384.02. The firm has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.29 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 6.59%.

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.