Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,727 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,218 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,727 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Murphy USA worth $4,356,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 191.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in Murphy USA by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. raised its position in Murphy USA by 42.6% during the 3rd quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. now owns 174 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covington Capital Management bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MUSA. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $404.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $410.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $8.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $406.91 and its 200 day moving average is $377.97. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $263.15 and a twelve month high of $430.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.21 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.