Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Hits New 1-Year High at $552.30

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $552.30 and last traded at $552.30, with a volume of 14936 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $533.25.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $469.50.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $505.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $458.06.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.02 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.43 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.33%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 over the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $184,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Murphy USA by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,923 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,964,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 35.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,073 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 79,221 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,247,000 after buying an additional 973 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 61.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 818 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.