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

Key Points

• Murphy USA has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on coverage from 10 research firms. Six analysts rate it a buy, four a hold, and the average 1-year price target is about $573.88.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $7.28 EPS versus $5.37 expected and $4.82 billion in revenue versus $4.70 billion expected. Revenue rose 6.5% year over year, and management also raised the quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including a large sale by director Robert Madison Murphy and a smaller sale by SVP Renee M. Bacon. Despite that, institutional investors still hold a large stake, owning 80.81% of the stock.

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $573.8750.

Several brokerages recently commented on MUSA. Capital One Financial began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $710.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $539.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total transaction of $24,773,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at approximately $204,286,875.52. This trade represents a 10.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,632,263.52. This represents a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392. Insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 10.2% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 423.1% during 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 during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth $227,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MUSA opened at $561.78 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $554.27 and a 200 day moving average of $478.98. The company has a market cap of $10.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.30. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The business 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 business's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 32.3 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.64 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio 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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