Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,880 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,066 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Murphy USA worth $15,096,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 317.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1,925.0% in the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 16,250 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $22,564,058.76. The trade was a 21.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 3,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,785,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,825,050. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 49,001 shares of company stock worth $19,134,872. 10.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $368.77 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $392.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $6.85 billion, a PE ratio of 15.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.38. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $345.23 and a 12 month high of $523.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.96 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Bank of America began coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $457.50.

Murphy USA Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.