JCP Investment Management LLC Invests $10.83 Million in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

JCP Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 27,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $10,827,000. Murphy USA accounts for 7.1% of JCP Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 318.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $164,940,000 after purchasing an additional 323,331 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $93,967,000. Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3,650.7% during the 2nd quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 180,858 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,573,000 after buying an additional 176,036 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position 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 worth $69,243,000 after buying an additional 148,301 shares during the period. Finally, Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 4,972.5% in the 3rd quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 100,942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $39,192,000 after acquiring an additional 98,952 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp set a $500.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $429.00.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA opened at $456.67 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $416.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $396.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $8.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.40. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $523.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for 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%. Murphy USA’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were 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 represents a 49.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.19, for a total transaction of $456,444.45. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,778.17. This trade represents a 42.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,970 shares of company stock valued at $6,212,365. Company insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.