Bancreek Capital Management LP Has $5.80 Million Holdings in Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)

Bancreek Capital Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) by 30.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,057 shares during the period. Murphy USA comprises approximately 5.7% of Bancreek Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Bancreek Capital Management LP’s holdings in Murphy USA were worth $5,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA opened at $440.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $474.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $497.37. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. The trade was 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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. 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. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Melius started coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two 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.com, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.67.

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.