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

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $509.40.

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.3 %

MUSA stock opened at $491.89 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $350.55 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The company has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average of $522.54 and a 200-day moving average of $504.94.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 49,501.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $191,664,000 after purchasing an additional 388,090 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter worth $53,387,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 99,253 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,122,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.