Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Stephens

Stephens reissued their overweight rating on shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $470.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $404.60.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $412.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $265.49 and a 52 week high of $430.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $408.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $378.44.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.21 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total value of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares in the company, valued at $8,797,249.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,235 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $407.96, for a total transaction of $503,830.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,797,249.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 191.7% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 394.7% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Delta Asset Management LLC TN grew its stake in Murphy USA by 70.7% in the 4th quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 128 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

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.