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

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the five analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $408.60.

MUSA has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total transaction of $627,415.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582 over the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 191.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 394.7% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Delta Asset Management LLC TN raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 128 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MUSA traded up $0.80 during trading on Friday, reaching $421.34. 166,767 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 206,271. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52 and a beta of 0.76. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $414.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $383.30. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $267.93 and a 12-month high of $430.83.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.21 EPS. The business's revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.59%.

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.