Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Has $411,000 Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 42.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 875 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $411,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $895,046,000 after purchasing an additional 32,643 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,231,000 after purchasing an additional 552,872 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,667,000 after purchasing an additional 33,489 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded down $11.63 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $413.29. 265,035 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 228,157. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business's 50-day moving average price is $434.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.28. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $385.44 and a 12 month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.19% and a net margin of 2.46%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.12 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Melius assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial cut Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $526.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.12% of the company's stock.

About Murphy USA

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.