Arcus Capital Partners LLC Invests $309,000 in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Arcus Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 658 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth approximately $40,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 21.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,210 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 63.5% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 12,364 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $6,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,486 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MUSA. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Stephens decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $526.29.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock traded down $1.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $425.49. The company had a trading volume of 336,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 229,411. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $385.44 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.74. The company has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $429.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $463.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.46% and a return on equity of 61.19%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.12 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.44%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director David C. Haley purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $435.58 per share, for a total transaction of $435,580.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $435,580. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

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.