VELA Investment Management LLC Sells 2,172 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• VELA Investment Management reduced its Murphy USA stake by 18.2% in the second quarter, selling 2,172 shares and retaining 9,760 shares worth approximately $5.26 million. Institutional investors collectively own 80.81% of the company.
• Murphy USA reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $11.27 versus the $9.95 consensus estimate and revenue of $6.81 billion, up 36% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.65, equivalent to $2.60 annually and a 0.5% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $606.89.

VELA Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 18.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,391 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,172 shares during the quarter. Murphy USA makes up approximately 1.1% of VELA Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. VELA Investment Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Murphy USA worth $5,061,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 10.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $227,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $710.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Murphy USA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research downgraded Murphy USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $606.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 449 shares of the company's stock, valued at $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 100 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total transaction of $52,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,947.20. The trade was a 28.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $511.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $349.83 and a one year high of $636.04. The company's fifty day moving average price is $571.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $529.01. The company has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.57, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.25.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%.The business had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $7.36 EPS. Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is 7.92%.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company's primary operations center on two retail formats.

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