Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Sold by Bancreek Capital Management LP

Bancreek Capital Management LP lowered its holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 30.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,057 shares during the quarter. Murphy USA comprises about 5.7% of Bancreek Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest position. Bancreek Capital Management LP owned 0.06% of Murphy USA worth $5,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after purchasing an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $291,068,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 4.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $191,407,000 after acquiring an additional 16,006 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 183,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $91,841,000 after acquiring an additional 3,641 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $440.45 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $474.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $497.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MUSA. Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $525.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.