Arcus Capital Partners LLC Purchases Shares of 520 Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Arcus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 520 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 141.4% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $69,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc increased 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 worth $72,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $522.42 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $495.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $479.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $350.55 and a 1-year high of $552.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55 and a beta of 0.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.69 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.61 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.37%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.