Quest Partners LLC Acquires Shares of 3,244 Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 3,244 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,599,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $476,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 15.8% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 10,453 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,382,000 after acquiring an additional 1,425 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 62.7% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,455 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 1,717 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $1,064,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 48,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,217,000 after purchasing an additional 11,428 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $521.00 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $350.55 and a 52 week 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 stock has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $497.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $482.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 11.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $495.33.

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.