Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $633.00 to $626.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $605.33.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $534.56 on Thursday. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $349.83 and a fifty-two week high of $636.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $527.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $547.86.

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. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%. The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 34.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total transaction of $52,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,947.20. This trade represents a 28.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,774.12. This represents a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 9.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth $1,724,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 23.2% in the first quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 146,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,986,000 after buying an additional 27,513 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $3,771,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $1,358,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth about $4,062,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

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.