Oak Thistle LLC Invests $905,000 in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,332 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $905,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1,925.0% during the second quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, WD Rutherford LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter worth $49,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp cut their price target on Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $474.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 24,733 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total transaction of $9,431,434.89. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 131,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,963,381.92. The trade was a 15.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.5%

Murphy USA stock opened at $403.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.02 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $379.85 and a 200-day moving average of $392.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $532.11.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.60 by $0.65. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 69.87% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.11 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.20 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 10th were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 10th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 10.63%.

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.