Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Murphy USA has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from nine covering firms, with an average 1-year price target of about $503.71. Recent analyst moves included higher price targets and upgrades from firms like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Zacks Research, and JPMorgan.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, earning $7.28 per share versus expectations of $5.37 and posting revenue of $4.82 billion, above estimates. Revenue rose 6.5% year over year, and analysts now expect full-year earnings of $32.32 per share.
• Murphy USA also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share from $0.63, while insiders have sold shares recently and institutional ownership remains high at 80.81%. The stock was trading near its 52-week high, opening at $612.30 versus a range of $345.23 to $614.24.

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $503.7143.

Several analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Bank of America raised shares of Murphy USA from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $539.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total transaction of $24,773,840.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,286,875.52. This represents a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $1,632,263.52. The trade was a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Verus Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 40.0% during the first quarter. Verus Capital Partners LLC now owns 844 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bull Harbor Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth approximately $365,000. Amundi acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter worth approximately $438,000. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 20.5% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 20,820 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $10,284,000 after purchasing an additional 3,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 2.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,797 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,322,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $612.30 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.30. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $534.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $458.55. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $614.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 32.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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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