Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Reduces Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 4.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,370 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 168 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.4% during the first quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 442,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $207,717,000 after acquiring an additional 22,733 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 94.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 371,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,613,000 after acquiring an additional 180,055 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 21.1% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 268,373 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $126,065,000 after acquiring an additional 46,677 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 61.5% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $118,662,000 after acquiring an additional 96,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 902.2% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 153,202 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $71,976,000 after acquiring an additional 137,915 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $387.46 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.04 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $387.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $427.57. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.92 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,830,015.72. This represents a 1.30% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 1st. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $480.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, September 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $483.17.

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.