Oak Thistle LLC Purchases Shares of 2,405 Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,207,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 16.3% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 930 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,621 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,169,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 14.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,011 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $45,543,000 after acquiring an additional 12,336 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 11.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 1,868 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Finally, Waterloo Capital L.P. bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at $484,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA stock traded down $4.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $483.60. 156,216 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 161,868. The company's 50 day moving average price is $523.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $505.35. The company has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month 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.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.69 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors 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 represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded 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 cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $509.40.

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.