Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock: Insider Robert Madison Murphy Sells 1,000 Shares

Key Points

• Director Robert Murphy sold 1,000 Murphy USA shares for $624,340, reducing his direct ownership by 2.48% to 39,379 shares.
• Murphy USA reported quarterly EPS of $9.59, beating the $8.37 consensus, while revenue of $6.89 billion exceeded estimates and rose 34.8% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend from $0.65 to $0.72 per share, equivalent to $2.88 annually and a 0.6% yield.

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) Director Robert Murphy sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $624.34, for a total transaction of $624,340.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 39,379 shares in the company, valued at $24,585,884.86. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA traded down $7.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $502.21. The company had a trading volume of 365,274 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,107. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $352.42 and a 12-month high of $636.04. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $522.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $515.59. The stock has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The specialty retailer reported $9.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.37 by $1.22. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 92.81%. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.25 EPS. Murphy USA's quarterly revenue was up 34.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 35.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be given a $0.72 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.29%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $915,734,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth about $78,372,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 23.2% in the first quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 146,119 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $71,986,000 after buying an additional 27,513 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 21,322.2% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 103,041 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $55,526,000 after acquiring an additional 102,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copeland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,143,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Murphy USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $612.00 to $621.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $606.33.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc is a U.S. operator of retail fuel and convenience stores. The company sells gasoline and diesel fuel along with tobacco products, packaged beverages, snacks, candy, grocery items, general merchandise and other convenience products. Many locations also offer prepared food and related services.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, with a network concentrated primarily in the Southern, Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Murphy USA locations are commonly situated near Walmart stores, while Murphy Express sites generally operate as standalone convenience stores.

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