Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Acquires 3,488 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 622.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,048 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,488 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Murphy USA by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $291,068,000 after acquiring an additional 8,507 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 49,501.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $191,664,000 after acquiring an additional 388,090 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.8% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,363 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $95,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 141,637 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $66,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 note on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA traded up $2.97 on Friday, reaching $550.90. 175,889 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 192,848. 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 has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61 and a beta of 0.78. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $350.55 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $510.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $497.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.69 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

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.