Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Trims Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,381 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 174 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,159,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Murphy USA by 141.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised its position 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 buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $553.65 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.87 and a beta of 0.75. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $350.55 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $498.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $489.08. 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 (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

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.