Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $495.33.

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. 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 research note on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target 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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 11.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 49,501.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $191,664,000 after acquiring an additional 388,090 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,387,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after buying an additional 99,253 shares during the period. Argent Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,359.6% in the second quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 93,326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,813,000 after purchasing an additional 86,932 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter worth about $30,122,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA stock opened at $529.19 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 0.75. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $350.55 and a twelve month high of $552.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $497.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $482.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.69 EPS. Analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 23.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.36%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.92%.

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.