Eisler Capital Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,175 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,078,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at about $112,741,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $53,777,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $935,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 363.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 54,471 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $27,331,000 after purchasing an additional 42,712 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MUSA has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens cut their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Melius assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $526.29.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA traded down $2.93 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $436.55. 430,904 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 208,554. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $475.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.74. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $422.66 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business's revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.44%.

About Murphy USA

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.