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

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $464.57.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 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

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at $274,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,174 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 10.1% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 612 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 88.5% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock opened at $480.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.17 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $552.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $502.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $470.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 24.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.55%.

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.