Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Takes Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 26,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,587,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.13% of Murphy USA as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1,925.0% in the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $47,000. WPG Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth $49,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 16,250 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total value of $6,196,612.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 59,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,564,058.76. The trade was a 21.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. KeyCorp lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $474.00.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $385.07 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $558.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $377.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $396.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

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.