Geode Capital Management LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 4.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,006 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $191,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc boosted its position 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 valued at $72,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 82.1% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 25.6% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 135.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $550.90 on Monday. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $350.55 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The firm has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $511.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $498.60. 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 (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS 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 company had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.