Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $3.41 Million in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,414,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $227,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MUSA. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.89.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,016 shares of company stock worth $2,750,098. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $567.65 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $576.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $519.25.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 7.80%.

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.