Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock: Insider Donald Smith, Jr. Sells 1,460 Shares

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) CFO Donald Smith, Jr. sold 1,460 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $515.65, for a total transaction of $752,849.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,945,702.55. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA traded down $2.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $510.50. The company had a trading volume of 361,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 314,869. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $523.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $515.26. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $352.42 and a 1-year high of $636.04. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.31, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.29.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The specialty retailer reported $9.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.37 by $1.22. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 96.37%. The firm’s revenue was up 34.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.25 EPS. Analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.72 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.07%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 27.7% in the third quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $570,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 14.4% during the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth about $238,000. TrinityBridge Ltd acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,773,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $706,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $633.00 to $626.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.33.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc is a U.S. operator of retail fuel and convenience stores. The company sells gasoline and diesel fuel along with tobacco products, packaged beverages, snacks, candy, grocery items, general merchandise and other convenience products. Many locations also offer prepared food and related services.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, with a network concentrated primarily in the Southern, Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Murphy USA locations are commonly situated near Walmart stores, while Murphy Express sites generally operate as standalone convenience stores.