Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Price Target Increased to $460.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its price objective raised by Wells Fargo & Company from $440.00 to $460.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $408.60.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $418.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a PE ratio of 16.39 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $267.93 and a fifty-two week high of $430.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $412.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $381.95.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.21 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 26.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 6.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Murphy USA news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total transaction of $627,415.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,491.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 70.2% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 10,659 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,468,000 after purchasing an additional 4,398 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $233,000. Nilsine Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 76.9% during the 1st quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 9,081 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,807,000 after purchasing an additional 3,947 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $461,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Oklahoma bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 1st quarter valued at $249,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Murphy USA

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.