Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Upgraded to Buy by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on Murphy USA from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $428.83.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock opened at $510.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.87. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $465.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $424.06. The company has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $282.49 and a 52-week high of $520.00.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.97). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.45% and a net margin of 2.43%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $4.80 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 24.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.32, for a total value of $4,575,805.44. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 199,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $87,871,580.16. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was 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 sold a total of 11,451 shares of company stock worth $5,032,498 over the last three months. 9.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 191.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 777.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 141.4% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 394.7% during the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.