Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Director Robert Madison Murphy Sells 1,000 Shares of Company Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director Robert Murphy sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $624.34, for a total value of $624,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 39,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,585,884.86. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $502.21 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $521.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $515.84. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $352.42 and a fifty-two week high of $636.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.31.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The specialty retailer reported $9.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.37 by $1.22. The business had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 92.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.25 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 35.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. This is a positive change 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%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $915,734,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,372,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 146,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,986,000 after acquiring an additional 27,513 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 21,322.2% during the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 103,041 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,526,000 after acquiring an additional 102,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the third quarter worth approximately $54,143,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $633.00 to $626.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $612.00 to $621.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.