Narwhal Capital Management Grows Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Narwhal Capital Management lifted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 460.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,754 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,549 shares during the quarter. Narwhal Capital Management’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $3,389,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased 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 during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 186.1% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 348.4% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc raised its position in Murphy USA by 942.9% in the 3rd quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $94,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $509.40.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $476.54 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $350.55 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $516.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $506.63.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.69 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Profile

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.