Empowered Funds LLC Takes $2.82 Million Position in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 5,234 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,820,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the period. Kenora Financial LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 3.3% during the first quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 449 shares in the company, valued at $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $619.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.89.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA opened at $520.21 on Thursday. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $349.83 and a fifty-two 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $571.70 and a 200 day moving average of $527.48. The firm has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.84, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. Murphy USA’s 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.