Blue Trust Inc. Raises Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 31.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,548 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Narwhal Capital Management lifted its position in Murphy USA by 460.5% during the 4th quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 6,754 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,389,000 after acquiring an additional 5,549 shares during the period. Applied Capital LLC FL lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 526 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,971,000 after buying an additional 1,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mustard Seed Financial LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Mustard Seed Financial LLC now owns 1,123 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $509.40.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $494.24 on Thursday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $514.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $506.79. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $350.55 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The firm has a market cap of $10.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39 and a beta of 0.80.

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