Narus Financial Partners LLC Boosts Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Narus Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,020 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Narus Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth about $270,000. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 3,950 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,350,000 after buying an additional 489 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,180,000 after buying an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $582,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 10,362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,541,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $82,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,451 shares of company stock worth $5,032,498 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE MUSA traded down $6.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $456.62. The stock had a trading volume of 54,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 216,160. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The company has a market capitalization of $9.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $443.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $409.74. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $282.49 and a twelve month high of $489.89.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97). The firm had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.45% and a net margin of 2.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.80 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $408.60.

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.