Islay Capital Management LLC Invests $568,000 in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,462 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $568,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter worth about $93,967,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3,650.7% in 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 last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 676.7% in 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 last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 24.0% during the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 491,641 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $200,000,000 after buying an additional 95,259 shares during the period. Finally, Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1,785.1% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 81,211 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,037,000 after buying an additional 76,903 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $419.20 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $523.09. The stock has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The company’s fifty day moving average is $411.87 and its 200-day moving average is $393.35.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.96 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,890,325. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total transaction of $139,669.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 352 shares in the company, valued at $142,503.68. This trade represents a 49.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 14,833 shares of company stock worth $6,154,491 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.04% 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.