Davidson Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Davidson Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 3.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,366 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Davidson Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. GW&K Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. TCTC Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 116.7% in the 1st quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,925.0% in the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $47,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $474.00.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.8%

MUSA stock opened at $357.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $380.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $406.63. The company has a market capitalization of $6.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06 and a beta of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.60 by $0.65. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 69.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.20 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 10th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.63%.

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.