Islay Capital Management LLC Makes New $731,000 Investment in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,456 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 956 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 421,760 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,667,000 after acquiring an additional 33,489 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 142,759 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $71,629,000 after acquiring an additional 16,340 shares during the period. Cannell & Spears LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC now owns 32,480 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $16,297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,508 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,284,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $470.95 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $471.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $493.65.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Melius assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.67.

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.