Heartland Advisors Inc. Makes New $9.55 Million Investment in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,732 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $9,555,000. Heartland Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Murphy USA as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 148.5% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $567.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $576.44 and its 200 day moving average is $519.25. The stock has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.28. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $349.83 and a 1-year high of $636.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $619.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.89.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total value of $555,912.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,632,263.52. This trade represents a 25.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 53,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,016 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,098. Insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

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.