Edgestream Partners L.P. Reduces Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Edgestream Partners L.P. lowered its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 95.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 641 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 15,120 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.9% during the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. Vista Finance LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. Vista Finance LLC now owns 646 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fortune Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,821 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $741,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.5% during the second quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,001 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $407,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 16.8% during the second quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 319 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total value of $9,431,434.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 131,024 shares in the company, valued at $49,963,381.92. This represents a 15.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 10.12% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $392.86 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $377.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $393.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a PE ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 0.39. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $556.86.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.60 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.11 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 69.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.20 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 10.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MUSA. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company 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.