B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Sells 211 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 20.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 815 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 211 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $395,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 126,419 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $61,873,000 after buying an additional 11,103 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 122.8% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at about $374,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter worth about $30,122,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 18.4% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,155 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,721,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $519.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45 and a beta of 0.78. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $350.55 and a one year high of $561.08. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $516.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $500.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.37%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.