Xponance Inc. Trims Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,177 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 223 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $274,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Murphy USA by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 191.7% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 17.5% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 323 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. Corporate insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.3 %

Murphy USA stock opened at $416.71 on Wednesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $267.93 and a 1-year high of $430.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $412.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $381.95.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 6.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $408.60.

Murphy USA Company 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.