Castleark Management LLC Invests $7.16 Million in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,280 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,156,000. Castleark Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Murphy USA as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MUSA. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 82.5% during the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MUSA. KeyCorp upped their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.89.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $545.68 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.28. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $349.83 and a 52-week high of $636.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $575.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $521.55.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $7.36 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

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.