WINTON GROUP Ltd Acquires Shares of 2,520 Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 2,520 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,358,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Kenora Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $606.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total transaction of $52,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,947.20. The trade was a 28.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $523.09 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $349.83 and a 12 month high of $636.04. The stock has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $568.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $532.52.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.36 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.92%.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc (NYSE:MUSA) operates a network of retail fuel stations and convenience stores in the United States. Its locations primarily serve motorists and local communities, offering gasoline and diesel fuel along with convenience merchandise.

The company’s stores sell products such as tobacco, nicotine products, beverages, snacks, packaged food, and other general merchandise. Many locations also provide prepared food and other convenience services, with product offerings designed to complement the company’s fuel business.

Murphy USA was established as an independent publicly traded company in 2013 following its separation from Murphy Oil Corporation.