Insider Selling: Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Sells 353 Shares of Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Renee Bacon sold 353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $373.39, for a total value of $131,806.67. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,213,082.53. The trade was a 5.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock traded down $5.31 on Tuesday, reaching $363.67. The stock had a trading volume of 338,540 shares, compared to its average volume of 334,239. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $413.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $392.05. The stock has a market cap of $6.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.38. Murphy USA Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $345.23 and a fifty-two week high of $523.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.96 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MUSA. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $457.50.

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.