Barclays PLC Purchases 323,331 Shares of Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Barclays PLC boosted its holding in Murphy USA by 318.6% in Q3, buying an additional 323,331 shares to hold 424,818 shares (~2.27%) valued at about $164.94 million.
• Insiders have been selling recently — SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares (~$1.11M) and SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares, with insiders disposing of 14,833 shares worth $6.15M in the last 90 days (insiders now own 9.04%).
• Recent results and metrics: Murphy USA reported $7.53 EPS (beating estimates by $0.86) while revenue slightly missed forecasts; the stock trades at a PE of 18.04, market cap ~$8.12B, and pays a $0.63 quarterly dividend (0.6% yield).

Barclays PLC increased its position in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 318.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 323,331 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 2.27% of Murphy USA worth $164,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 5.6% in the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 568 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 2.7% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,282 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 0.9% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,739 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,452,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 2.9% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 1,215 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $472,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total transaction of $1,105,206.84. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total transaction of $139,669.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $142,503.68. This represents a 49.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,833 shares of company stock valued at $6,154,491. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 4.7%

NYSE MUSA opened at $438.02 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $412.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $393.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.40. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $523.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.96 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 10.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $457.50.

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.

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