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

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $408.60.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.6 %

MUSA opened at $411.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $415.60 and a 200-day moving average of $384.59. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $268.69 and a 52 week high of $430.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The company had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.21 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 26.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 6.59%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582. 9.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth about $138,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,925,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 40.6% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 31,087 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,623,000 after purchasing an additional 8,972 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 164,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,996 shares in the last quarter. Finally, K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth $2,532,000. 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.