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

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $447.3333.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Stephens decreased their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total value of $1,721,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $49,890,325. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total transaction of $139,669.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,503.68. This trade represents a 49.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,970 shares of company stock valued at $6,212,365. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 10.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,393 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 40,843 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $16,615,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 60,024 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $24,418,000 after acquiring an additional 3,456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 29.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,590 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of MUSA opened at $505.75 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $424.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $402.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.80. Murphy USA has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $523.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.40.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. The firm had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.96 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.38%.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.