Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Apollon Wealth Management LLC has reduced its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 46.8%, owning 1,370 shares worth approximately $557,000 after selling 1,206 shares in the second quarter.
• Murphy USA recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53, up from the previous $0.50, representing an annualized yield of 0.6%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Murphy USA, with price targets ranging from $350 to $480, while the stock has a strong buy rating from one analyst and a strong sell from another.

Apollon Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 46.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,370 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,206 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2,594.2% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 142,038 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $66,731,000 after purchasing an additional 136,766 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth about $241,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,683,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 21.1% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.3%

Murphy USA stock opened at $378.94 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69 and a beta of 0.42. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $345.23 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $384.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $422.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The business's revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.92 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $405.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $480.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $477.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 389,172 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 9.04% 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.

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