Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC Sells 5,723 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC has reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 10.3%, owning approximately 0.25% of the company worth $23.38 million after selling 5,723 shares.
• Murphy USA recently declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.53 per share, yielding 0.6% annually, with a payout ratio of 8.28%.
• Analysts have varying views on the stock, with Jefferies downgrading it from "buy" to "hold" and adjusting its price target to $350, while others maintain "overweight" ratings with higher targets.

Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 10.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 49,762 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,723 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Murphy USA worth $23,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $1,800,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $400,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $147,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. KeyCorp cut their target price on Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $476.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded down $4.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $374.29. 255,247 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 368,668. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $402.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $440.79. The company has a market capitalization of $7.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67 and a beta of 0.42. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. The business had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 64.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.92 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.78%.

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.