Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Sold by Monument Capital Management

Key Points

• Monument Capital Management sold 8,392 shares of Murphy USA Inc., reducing its stake by 78.7% during the 2nd quarter, leaving it with 2,266 shares valued at approximately $922,000.
• Murphy USA declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53, which is an increase from the previous $0.50, reflecting a 0.6% annual dividend yield.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock; while some have lowered their price targets, there remains a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $483.17.

Monument Capital Management trimmed its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 78.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,266 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 8,392 shares during the period. Monument Capital Management's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $922,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 116.7% during the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $47,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research cut Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $350.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $480.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $483.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 117,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $367.01 per share, for a total transaction of $1,835,050.00. Following the purchase, 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. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $367.75 on Friday. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The firm has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.23 and a beta of 0.42. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $383.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $424.91.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. The company had revenue of $5.01 billion for 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%.Murphy USA's revenue was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.92 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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%.

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.

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