Narwhal Capital Management Purchases Shares of 1,205 Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Narwhal Capital Management purchased a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,205 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $594,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 75,937 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $37,427,000 after acquiring an additional 11,238 shares in the last quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth approximately $274,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,174 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 40.4% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 10.1% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 612 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of MUSA stock traded down $1.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $473.47. 128,273 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 199,375. The stock has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $350.55 and a 52-week high of $552.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock's fifty day moving average is $501.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $472.47.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.02 EPS. Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.14 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 7.55%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. Insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $464.57.

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.