Federated Hermes Inc. Trims Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,949 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,520 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.19% of Murphy USA worth $17,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth about $12,521,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 116.7% during the first quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth about $1,110,000. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% in the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,839 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,032,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 25.9% in the first quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 4,452 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MUSA. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $519.86.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director David C. Haley acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $435,580. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Trading Down 11.1%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $362.77 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $357.23 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $418.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $456.06. The company has a market cap of $7.17 billion, a PE ratio of 15.02 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. The firm 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 61.57%. The company’s revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.92 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA 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.