Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.44 Per Share

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 9th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 0.44 per share by the specialty retailer on Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42.

Murphy USA has raised its dividend payment by an average of 83.7% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA traded up $17.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $435.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 316,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,427. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $268.69 and a 1-year high of $435.92. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $414.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $386.64. The stock has a market cap of $9.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.27 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.80 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 25.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $408.60.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 2,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of Murphy USA 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,645 shares of company stock valued at $4,326,582 over the last three months. 9.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.