Rosemary Turner Sells 966 Shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the sale, the director owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,774.12. This represents a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $567.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $576.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $519.25. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $349.83 and a 52 week high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The company’s revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.36 EPS. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.80%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Capital One Financial started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Murphy USA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $606.89.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 148.5% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.