Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $539.00.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $550.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 46.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 9,890 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,874,000 after acquiring an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 122.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 2,966 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 9.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 126,419 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $61,873,000 after purchasing an additional 11,103 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 worth $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake 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 valued at $699,000 after buying an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $502.98 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $476.25 and a 200-day moving average of $494.44. The firm has a market cap of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $403.37 and a twelve month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. Analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 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.