Versant Capital Management Inc Raises Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 348.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $70,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% during 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. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 135.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $94,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE MUSA opened at $500.41 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $521.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $504.53.

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 business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 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.