Aigen Investment Management LP Sells 574 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Aigen Investment Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 34.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,075 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 574 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $530,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Verus Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 5.9% in the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 861 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $424,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth about $256,000. Meridian Management Co. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 2,452 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Murphy USA by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 1,669 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $527.97 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $350.55 and a twelve month 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $496.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $480.79. The company has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78 and a beta of 0.75.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.61 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.48 dividend. 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%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

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.