TrinityBridge Ltd Makes New $28.77 Million Investment in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

TrinityBridge Ltd purchased a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 57,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $28,773,000. Murphy USA makes up about 0.8% of TrinityBridge Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter worth about $915,734,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth about $78,372,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 23.2% in the first quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 146,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $71,986,000 after buying an additional 27,513 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 21,322.2% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 103,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,526,000 after buying an additional 102,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at about $54,143,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, Director David Goebel sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.36, for a total value of $511,360.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $407,042.56. This represents a 55.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,526 shares of company stock worth $1,869,005 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $510.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $522.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $515.59. The stock has a market cap of $9.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.31, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.31. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $352.42 and a 1-year high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The specialty retailer reported $9.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.37 by $1.22. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 92.81% and a net margin of 2.85%. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 34.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 35.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 19th. Bank of America upped their price target on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $612.00 to $621.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $633.00 to $626.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. 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, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.33.

Murphy USA Profile

Murphy USA Inc is a U.S. operator of retail fuel and convenience stores. The company sells gasoline and diesel fuel along with tobacco products, packaged beverages, snacks, candy, grocery items, general merchandise and other convenience products. Many locations also offer prepared food and related services.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, with a network concentrated primarily in the Southern, Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Murphy USA locations are commonly situated near Walmart stores, while Murphy Express sites generally operate as standalone convenience stores.