Brokerages Set Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) PT at $525.67

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $525.67.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Melius assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA opened at $438.17 on Tuesday. Murphy USA has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $475.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $497.92.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,230,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 8,938 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,485,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.