Sanctuary Advisors LLC Buys 490 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,155 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 490 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $1,721,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 5.6% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 7.3% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $525.69 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $515.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $500.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. The stock has a market cap of $10.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69 and a beta of 0.78. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.69 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. 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 0.37%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports 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 report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com raised 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 five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $495.33.

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.