Bleakley Financial Group LLC Boosts Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 712 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,159 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Murphy USA by 4.8% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,340 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda grew its position in Murphy USA by 100.6% in the third quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda now owns 985 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after acquiring an additional 494 shares in the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL bought a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at $239,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 18.2% during the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MUSA shares. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $510.80.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA opened at $483.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $505.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $506.67. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99 and a beta of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.47 earnings per share for the current 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.