Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on MUSA. Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $464.57.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $493.00 on Tuesday. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $338.36 and a 12-month high of $552.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $509.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.27.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.02 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 24.43 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, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.55%.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1,091.4% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,063,000 after purchasing an additional 13,250 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth $1,258,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 21.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth $8,949,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 10.3% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is 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.