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

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $509.40.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded down $1.51 on Monday, reaching $498.90. 132,461 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 122,989. The firm has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 0.78. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $350.55 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $521.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $504.53.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 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.