Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases New Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,501 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $740,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Murphy USA by 141.4% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 777.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc increased its stake in Murphy USA by 942.9% during the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 82.1% during the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $542.49 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $502.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $492.29. The company has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $350.55 and a one year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Murphy USA 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.