Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $539.00.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $550.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $204,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the third quarter worth about $222,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 863 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 225 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Murphy USA by 22.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,836,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $511.03 on Friday. 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 has a 12 month low of $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $469.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $492.98.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. Research analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.38%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

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.