956 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Acquired by Peterson Wealth Services

Peterson Wealth Services acquired a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 956 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 20.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 79.2% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 6,912 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,407,000 after purchasing an additional 3,054 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 26.1% in the third quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 7,134 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 17.9% in the third quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 4.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,340 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $510.80.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.4 %

Murphy USA stock traded down $7.06 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $485.65. 220,207 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 211,690. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $502.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $506.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 0.79. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $382.04 and a one year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. On average, research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.47 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.93%.

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.