Ieq Capital LLC Buys New Shares in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 7,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,945,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% during the fourth 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 increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 82.5% during the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $619.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Capital One Financial initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.89.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $567.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $576.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $520.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $349.83 and a 52 week high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.36 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total value of $555,912.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,632,263.52. The trade was a 25.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,016 shares of company stock valued at $2,750,098. Corporate 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.