13,280 Shares in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA Purchased by Castleark Management LLC

Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,280 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,156,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 10.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during 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 last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MUSA. Capital One Financial started coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Murphy USA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.89.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $545.68 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $575.60 and its 200 day moving average is $521.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.28. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $349.83 and a fifty-two week high of $636.04.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis 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 currently 7.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 449 shares in the company, valued at $256,774.12. This represents a 68.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Company 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.