KeyCorp Cuts Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Price Target to $525.00

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its target price cut by KeyCorp from $550.00 to $525.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $526.29.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.3%

MUSA stock opened at $445.45 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.59. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $422.66 and a 52 week high of $561.08. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $476.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $494.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by ($1.24). The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.12 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 in the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $1,207,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $11,529,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,838 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $922,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,890 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,874,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.