Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lessened its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 68.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 496 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,065 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 777.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 141.4% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 40.4% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 942.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $555.48 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $497.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $488.24. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92 and a beta of 0.75. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $350.55 and a 52-week high of $558.65.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

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.