Kestra Investment Management LLC Takes $406,000 Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 823 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $406,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 777.8% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 141.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% in the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $542.49 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $350.55 and a 12-month high of $561.08. 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 company has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $502.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $492.29.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced 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 business 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%. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $495.33.

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.