Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $464.57.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE MUSA opened at $495.41 on Tuesday. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $338.94 and a 12 month high of $552.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $510.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $462.09. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 24.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at $203,955,423.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666 over the last quarter. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 3.8% in the second quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 844 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

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.