Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 26.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,758 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,836 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.'s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $4,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 0.4% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 15,865 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,819,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 64.2% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 94.9% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,736 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 2.0% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 6,129 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,021,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.7% during the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 1,089 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts recently weighed in 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 company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $495.33.
View Our Latest Report on Murphy USA
Murphy USA Stock Performance
MUSA stock traded down $0.50 on Wednesday, hitting $540.66. The company had a trading volume of 143,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,611. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $350.55 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $503.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $492.99. The stock has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30 and a beta of 0.78.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.69 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. 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%.
About Murphy USA
(
Free Report)
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.
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