Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $408.60.

MUSA has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.32, for a total transaction of $4,575,805.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 199,563 shares in the company, valued at $87,871,580.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,451 shares of company stock valued at $5,032,498. Insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 191.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 777.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 141.4% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 394.7% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $462.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $448.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $414.14. The company has a market cap of $9.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $282.49 and a 1-year high of $489.89.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.97). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.80 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 24.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.44 dividend. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.39%.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.