Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

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 morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $464.57.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $479.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13 and a beta of 0.77. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $502.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $472.07. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $350.55 and a 52 week high of $552.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.02 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 24.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.55%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at $203,955,423.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 245,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $102,797,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $95,940,000 after buying an additional 1,560 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 141,637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $66,493,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.2% during the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 127,160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,305,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 14.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,011 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $45,543,000 after acquiring an additional 12,336 shares during the period. 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.