Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Shares Acquired by Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC

Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 23.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 146,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 27,513 shares during the quarter. Murphy USA accounts for approximately 4.3% of Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.79% of Murphy USA worth $71,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 149.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,753,000 after purchasing an additional 304,354 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 676.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,243,000 after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $50,726,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Murphy USA by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 318,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $128,511,000 after purchasing an additional 99,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,457,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total value of $24,773,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 342,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,286,875.52. This represents a 10.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,487.25. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392 in the last ninety days. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.5%

Murphy USA stock opened at $600.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $636.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $568.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $502.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Capital One Financial began coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $585.11.

Murphy USA Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.