Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Murphy USA from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $464.57.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $476.90 on Friday. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $552.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $507.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 24.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.55%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 141.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $69,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 82.1% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $94,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.