Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 9,822 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 90.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,685 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 9,822 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Murphy USA worth $10,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 49,501.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $191,664,000 after buying an additional 388,090 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 245,220 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $102,797,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Murphy USA by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,363 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $95,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 141,637 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $66,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the third quarter worth $53,387,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.1 %

MUSA stock traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $529.19. The stock had a trading volume of 211,828 shares, compared to its average volume of 197,223. The business has a 50-day moving average of $497.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $482.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 0.75. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $350.55 and a 52-week high of $552.30.

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, beating 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 net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is 7.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 11.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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.