Fortune Financial Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Fortune Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 416 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1,091.4% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,063,000 after acquiring an additional 13,250 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 21.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 10.3% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 24.3% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,617 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 62.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,455 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after buying an additional 1,717 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. 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 research note on Thursday, September 19th. Raymond James increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $473.37 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $499.98 and a 200 day moving average of $473.27. The company has a market capitalization of $9.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $552.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces 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 paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.06%.

About Murphy USA

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.