Islay Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Islay Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,462 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $93,967,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 176,036 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 676.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,243,000 after acquiring an additional 148,301 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 24.0% in the second quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 491,641 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $200,000,000 after purchasing an additional 95,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 1,785.1% in the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 81,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,037,000 after purchasing an additional 76,903 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens cut their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. 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 note on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $457.50.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MUSA opened at $419.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.40. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $523.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $411.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $393.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total value of $139,669.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,503.68. This trade represents a 49.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total transaction of $343,894.47. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,833 shares of company stock worth $6,154,491. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA 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.