Empowered Funds LLC Has $7.21 Million Stake in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Empowered Funds LLC lowered its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 8.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,591 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,310 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.08% of Murphy USA worth $7,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MUSA. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at $44,457,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 4.5% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 12,897 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,371,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. SummitTX Capital L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $1,955,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $4,073,000. Finally, Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at $5,320,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.2%

MUSA stock opened at $608.99 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $636.04. The company has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $571.98 and a 200-day moving average of $505.47.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,245. This trade represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 53,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $619.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $596.44.

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.