Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Purchases 679 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 58.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,838 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 186.1% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 348.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Key Financial Inc grew its position in Murphy USA by 942.9% in the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 135.4% in the 2nd 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. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA traded down $0.96 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $482.62. The stock had a trading volume of 173,461 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,026. The stock has a market cap of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.91 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $522.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $505.20. 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 Inc. has a 12-month low of $350.55 and a 12-month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.69 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $509.40.

Murphy USA 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.