UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 56,720 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,688 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.28% of Murphy USA worth $27,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 777.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in Murphy USA by 141.4% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% in the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.1% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.6 %

MUSA traded down $3.44 during trading on Thursday, hitting $537.22. 49,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 193,980. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $350.55 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $504.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $493.32. The firm has a market cap of $10.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30 and a beta of 0.78.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Murphy USA Company 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.