Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 98,952 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 4,972.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 98,952 shares during the quarter. Murphy USA makes up about 3.0% of Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.54% of Murphy USA worth $39,192,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 318.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $164,940,000 after acquiring an additional 323,331 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth about $93,967,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 3,650.7% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 180,858 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,573,000 after purchasing an additional 176,036 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 676.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,243,000 after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares during the period. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 491,641 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $200,000,000 after buying an additional 95,259 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $454.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $415.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $395.21. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $523.09. The firm has a market cap of $8.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.40.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $6.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total value of $1,105,206.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total value of $1,721,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,890,325. This represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 14,970 shares of company stock worth $6,212,365 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price target on Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America began coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $429.00.

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.