Eisler Capital Management Ltd. Increases Stock Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. $MUSA

Key Points

• Eisler Capital Management Ltd. increased its stake in Murphy USA Inc. by 140.3% during the first quarter, holding shares valued at $2,461,000 by quarter's end.
• Murphy USA disclosed a quarterly dividend increase from $0.50 to $0.53 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 0.6%.
• Despite a profit increase, the company's revenue declined 8.2% year-over-year, reporting $5.01 billion against analyst estimates of $5.17 billion.

Eisler Capital Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) by 140.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,227 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 3,052 shares during the quarter. Eisler Capital Management Ltd.'s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $2,461,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.9% in the first quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 489 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.2% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 2,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.7% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,473 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares in the last quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 5.9% in the first quarter. Applied Capital LLC FL now owns 557 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 18.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 203 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $440.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 1st. Stephens lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $500.00 to $480.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $476.29.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $376.32. 219,027 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 318,278. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.42. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $561.08. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $401.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $439.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.82 by $0.54. The firm had revenue of $5.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.17 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The company's quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.92 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 8.78%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 389,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,830,015.72. This represents a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total value of $717,982.98. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,337,979.58. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is owned by 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.