Sanctuary Advisors LLC Has $1.72 Million Stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,155 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing 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 hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 82.1% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 135.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $94,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $525.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.69 and a beta of 0.78. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $515.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $500.44. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $350.55 and a 1 year 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.69 EPS. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. 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. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.