Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $554.61 and last traded at $554.61, with a volume of 2949 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $545.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $495.33.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $11.25 billion, a PE ratio of 22.92 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $497.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $488.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The business’s revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.69 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 6.1% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 35,240 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,369,000 after acquiring an additional 2,028 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 24.3% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 1,617 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,573,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth $4,566,000. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 28.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,546 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,906,000 after buying an additional 1,005 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.