Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc trimmed its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 69.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 611 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,391 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MUSA. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC lifted 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $47,000. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.5%

MUSA stock opened at $359.27 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $380.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $405.37. The company has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15 and a beta of 0.39. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.60 by $0.65. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.20 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 10.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $474.00.

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.