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

Key Points

• Analysts give Murphy USA a “Moderate Buy” consensus: six of 11 analysts recommend buying the stock, while five rate it a hold. The average 12-month price target is $596.44, below the reported share price of $615.90.
• Murphy USA reported quarterly EPS of $7.28, well above the $5.37 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 6.5% year over year to $4.82 billion.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share, though insiders sold 46,225 shares worth approximately $27.4 million over the past 90 days.

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $596.4444.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Capital One Financial began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $710.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total value of $24,773,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,286,875.52. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total value of $1,641,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392 in the last ninety days. 9.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. WPG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 148.5% during the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA opened at $615.90 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $636.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $570.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $504.75.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 32.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This is a boost 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.85%.

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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