EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 17.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 348 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $175,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 186.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA opened at $452.64 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $479.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $499.82. The firm has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.70 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $382.04 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.67.

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.