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

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $526.29.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MUSA shares. Raymond James downgraded shares of Murphy USA from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $525.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Stephens lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 46.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,890 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 122.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 9.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 126,419 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $61,873,000 after purchasing an additional 11,103 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 1,394 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MUSA stock traded up $1.40 on Wednesday, hitting $445.45. The stock had a trading volume of 783,272 shares, compared to its average volume of 206,557. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $420.92 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50 day moving average of $476.03 and a 200 day moving average of $494.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). The firm had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.79 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Murphy USA's quarterly revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.12 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Murphy USA's payout ratio is presently 8.26%.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.