Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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 boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $482.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $499.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $474.20. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $350.55 and a 52-week high of $552.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results 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. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 23.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.28%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of Murphy USA 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. 9.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Murphy USA by 141.4% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 777.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth about $69,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 82.1% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.