Narwhal Capital Management Raises Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Narwhal Capital Management raised its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 460.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,754 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 5,549 shares during the quarter. Narwhal Capital Management's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $94,000. Creative Planning increased its stake in Murphy USA by 8.7% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,233 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,599 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,251,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,196 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $509.40.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.5 %

MUSA traded up $11.92 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $488.84. 232,534 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,023. The company has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 0.80. 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 one year low of $350.55 and a one year high of $561.08. The company's fifty day moving average price is $516.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $506.63.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. The business 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 business's revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.69 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.6 EPS for the current year.

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.