Semanteon Capital Management LP Buys Shares of 1,456 Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,456 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $565,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1,925.0% during the 2nd quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 81 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 251.6% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 109 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in Murphy USA during the third quarter worth $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $389.93 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $523.09. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $413.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $392.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $7.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.06, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 10.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 3,967 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,785,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $52,825,050. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total transaction of $139,669.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 352 shares in the company, valued at $142,503.68. This trade represents a 49.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,935 shares of company stock valued at $4,248,945 over the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $457.50.

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.