Wellington Management Group LLP Acquires Shares of 7,784 Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,836,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $270,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $539.71 on Wednesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $350.55 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $513.31 and its 200 day moving average is $499.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $7.69 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

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.