Jupiter Topco LLC Makes New Investment in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,530 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,062,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the transaction, the director directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 value of $1,641,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,487.25. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $534.87 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $571.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $526.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $349.83 and a twelve month high of $636.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.25.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%.The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $7.36 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a $0.65 dividend. 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Capital One Financial started coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.89.

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.