Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Empowered Funds LLC cut its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 37.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,938 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,747 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $6,492,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 22.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,133,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,529,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,207,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 35,240 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $17,369,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,573,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.80.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $488.57 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The business’s fifty day moving average is $507.04 and its 200 day moving average is $506.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.19 and a beta of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.