Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Trading Down 2%

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) was down 2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $502.12 and last traded at $505.29. Approximately 25,462 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 200,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $515.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $464.57.

Murphy USA Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $509.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $460.05. The company has a market capitalization of $10.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.43 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.55%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,251,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,599 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,233 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 141,637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $66,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% 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.