Insider Selling: Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Sells 137 Shares of Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Scott Woodward sold 137 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $422.44, for a total value of $57,874.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA traded down $1.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $437.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 639,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 360,320. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $412.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $393.66. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $523.09. The company has a market capitalization of $8.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. Murphy USA’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 10.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MUSA. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $457.50.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 82.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.