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

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $408.60.

MUSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $421.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.76. 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 $414.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $382.91.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.21 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 26.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.40%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.59%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 191.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 394.7% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Delta Asset Management LLC TN raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 128 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is 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.