Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $495.33.

MUSA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target 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. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 5.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 784 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 1,089 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $537,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.5 %

MUSA opened at $530.02 on Wednesday. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $350.55 and a 12-month high of $552.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.73 billion, a PE ratio of 21.87 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $496.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $480.46.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.69 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 23.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.92%.

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.