Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stake Cut by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 30.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,595 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 19,440 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Murphy USA worth $21,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 3.8% during the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Murphy USA by 5.6% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 580 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 141.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 25.6% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 201 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MUSA traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $527.99. The company had a trading volume of 80,219 shares, compared to its average volume of 196,861. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $350.55 and a 1-year high of $552.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $496.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $480.79. The stock has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 0.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.69 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $495.33.

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.