Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 16,006 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,006 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.92% of Murphy USA worth $191,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% during the 3rd 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 lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 942.9% during the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 82.1% in 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 during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 135.4% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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 business has a 50-day moving average of $511.90 and a 200 day moving average of $498.60. The firm has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 0.78. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The company’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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