Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund’s New Addition: Murphy USA (MUSA)

In its first-quarter 2026 capitalist letter, Heartland Mid Cap Value Fund highlighted stocks similar Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA). Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) is simply a state presumption and convenience store relation crossed the United States. On April 14, 2026, Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) closed astatine $498.46 per share. One-month instrumentality of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) was 7.97%, and its shares mislaid 1.58% implicit the past 52 weeks. Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has a marketplace capitalization of $9.22 billion.

"Consumer Discretionary. During the quarter, we added a caller holding successful Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA), a large-scale, low-cost relation of state stations and convenience stores passim the country.

Until recently, the comparatively humble implicit level and volatility of gasoline prices created a challenging backdrop for “everyday debased price” substance retailers similar Murphy. Shortly aft we initiated a position, the banal jumped arsenic the instrumentality of higher state prices, driven by the struggle successful Iran, allowed MUSA to flex its low-cost advantage, offering mundane discounted prices to consumers seeking value. Ultimately, however low-cost leaders respond successful a trough speaks to their resilience and quality to look arsenic winners erstwhile the rhythm normalizes. We judge Murphy has done conscionable that, and absorption seems to cognize it, arsenic they person been buying backmost shares on the way.

We can’t foretell precisely however this rhythm volition unfold. What we bash know, though, is that MUSA’s semipermanent borderline accidental is attractive, particularly erstwhile much than 60% of its manufacture peers are independents who mostly person trouble competing successful an inflationary backdrop. The stock—which traded astatine a 10-30% discount to the S&P 1500 Food and Staples radical during the anterior cycle—was precocious astatine an all-time discount to peers of 45%. The company’s structural stock gains and charismatic valuation gave america assurance to acquisition shares contempt nary certainty that substance margins would improve. Thus far, our timing has proven lucky, but this concern serves arsenic a reminder that buying a bully concern astatine an charismatic valuation is much important than trying to foretell the unpredictable, successful this case, the terms of fuel."