Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers trimmed its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,411 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 161 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $474.00.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.0%

MUSA opened at $385.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24 and a beta of 0.39. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $558.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $377.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $396.06.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.60 by $0.65. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.11 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.20 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 10th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 10.63%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 16,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total transaction of $6,196,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,564,058.76. This trade represents a 21.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.