Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Up 7.6% – What’s Next?

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)’s share price rose 7.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $593.00 and last traded at $598.5060. Approximately 80,057 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 340,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $556.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MUSA has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.71.

Murphy USA Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average of $532.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $456.91.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total transaction of $24,773,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at $204,286,875.52. This trade represents a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,245. This trade represents a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 317.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.