Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC Raises Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,488 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Murphy USA by 348.4% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 942.9% during the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 82.1% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 135.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded down $1.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $498.90. 132,461 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 122,989. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 0.78. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $350.55 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $521.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $504.53.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. 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 0.38%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of 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 four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $509.40.

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.