First Trust Advisors LP Has $7.23 Million Stock Position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) by 24.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 26,312 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 8,313 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $7,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 47.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Paragon Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. 85.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Trading Down 3.5 %

MUSA stock opened at $244.33 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $263.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $279.51. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $175.09 and a one year high of $323.00. The stock has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.81.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $5.21 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.16 by ($0.95). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 90.90% and a net margin of 2.87%. The company had revenue of $5.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 18.4 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 5.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $314.60.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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Murphy USA, Inc engages in marketing motor fuel products and convenience merchandise through retail stores, namely Murphy USA and Murphy Express. It collaborates with Walmart to offer customers discounted and free items based on purchases of qualifying fuel and merchandise. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, AR.