Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $6.18 Million Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 37.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,532 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned about 0.06% of Murphy USA worth $6,177,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 49,501.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $191,664,000 after buying an additional 388,090 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth about $53,387,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $863,116,000 after buying an additional 99,253 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1,359.6% during the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 93,326 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $43,813,000 after purchasing an additional 86,932 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter worth approximately $30,122,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MUSA stock traded up $2.97 on Friday, reaching $550.90. The company had a trading volume of 175,889 shares, 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 22.73 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $511.90 and a 200-day moving average of $498.14. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.69 EPS. Murphy USA's revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $495.33.

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.