Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Makes New Investment in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 67,158 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $36,189,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $876,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Kenora Financial LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 3.3% in the first quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $323,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,245. This trade represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director directly owned 53,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,464,487.25. The trade was a 5.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 4,567 shares of company stock valued at $2,494,673 over the last ninety days. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.4%

MUSA opened at $544.92 on Wednesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $349.83 and a 1-year high of $636.04. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $577.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $511.89. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.28.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research lowered Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $606.89.

Murphy USA 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.