Boothbay Fund Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) by 63.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,055 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,527 shares during the period. Boothbay Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $565,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
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Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.7% in the third quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 126,024 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,646,000 after acquiring an additional 7,936 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 234.5% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 18,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,058,000 after acquiring an additional 12,900 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 212.7% in the third quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 54,100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,873,000 after acquiring an additional 36,800 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 85.4% in the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 30,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,357,000 after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $969,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.30% of the company’s stock.
Murphy USA Trading Down 4.2 %
Shares of MUSA stock opened at $255.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.08 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $270.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.36. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $164.30 and a 1 year high of $323.00.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $5.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.16 by ($0.95). The firm had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.40 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 90.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 18.89 EPS for the current year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 17th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 5.27%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $314.60.
Murphy USA Profile
Murphy USA, Inc engages in marketing motor fuel products and convenience merchandise through retail stores, namely Murphy USA and Murphy Express. It collaborates with Walmart to offer customers discounted and free items based on purchases of qualifying fuel and merchandise. The company was founded on March 1, 2013 and is headquartered in El Dorado, AR.
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