Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Eric Bartko Sells 100 Shares

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total value of $52,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 252 shares in the company, valued at $131,947.20. This trade represents a 28.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $521.41 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $571.65 and a 200 day moving average of $528.28. The company has a market capitalization of $9.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.88, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.25. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $349.83 and a 1-year high of $636.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.36 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 34.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.92%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MUSA has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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 note on Monday, July 20th. Capital One Financial began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $619.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.89.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $792,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at about $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter worth about $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter worth about $227,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.