GAMMA Investing LLC Boosts Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,034 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $519,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MUSA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 348.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Key Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% in the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.1% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 135.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $509.40.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $500.41 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $521.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $504.53. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.69 EPS. Analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

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.