Vista Finance LLC Makes New Investment in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Vista Finance LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $291,000.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 4.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,340 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 88.5% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 612 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% in the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 28.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,174 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $551,000 after buying an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.4 %

MUSA stock opened at $485.65 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $382.04 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The business’s 50 day moving average is $502.93 and its 200-day moving average is $506.36. The firm has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $510.80.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.