Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 30.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,595 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 19,440 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $21,487,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 3.8% during the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Murphy USA by 5.6% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $514.31 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $517.54 and its 200 day moving average is $502.78.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results 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. 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 analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.69 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.92%.

Murphy USA 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.