Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Has Average Price Target of $606.89

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $606.11.

Several research firms have recently commented on MUSA. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, October 11th. Zacks Research cut shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $547.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92. The business’s fifty day moving average is $529.72 and its 200 day moving average is $546.50. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $349.83 and a fifty-two week high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 34.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were given a $0.65 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total transaction of $52,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $131,947.20. This represents a 28.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $857,000. Copeland Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,143,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 2.6% in the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 826 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RHS Financial LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the third quarter worth approximately $226,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc operates a nationwide network of retail gasoline stations and convenience stores in the United States. Its stores sell branded and unbranded motor fuel, tobacco products, nicotine products, beverages, snacks, packaged food, and other convenience items. Some locations also offer additional services such as lottery products and car washes.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, primarily in proximity to Walmart stores and along major roads.