Insider Selling: Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Sells 1,050 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Murphy USA SVP Renee Bacon sold 1,050 shares on May 27 at an average price of $529.44, totaling about $555,912. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $7.28 beating expectations and revenue of $4.82 billion also topping estimates. Revenue rose 6.5% year over year.
• Murphy USA also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share from $0.63, and analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $503.71.

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) SVP Renee Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. The trade was a 25.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA traded down $15.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $515.22. The company had a trading volume of 347,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 347,844. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $521.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $445.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The company has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.36. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $609.82.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The business's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.63 EPS. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA's payout ratio is 8.85%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 138,998 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $53,967,000 after purchasing an additional 23,349 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,705 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $51,524,000 after purchasing an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,638 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $24,708,000 after purchasing an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $8,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,029,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $503.71.

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.

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