Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Sets New 1-Year High at $552.30

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $552.30 and last traded at $552.30, with a volume of 14936 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $533.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $469.50.

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.6 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $508.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $459.66. The company has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.43 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 7.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA 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 $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the sale, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 245,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $102,797,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at $81,560,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $95,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 127,160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $53,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

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.