Hilltop Holdings Inc. Has $294,000 Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 39.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 141.4% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased 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 period. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 82.1% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $539.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.80 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 $10.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $506.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $494.66.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.