Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Trading Up 5.4% – Here’s Why

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)’s stock price was up 5.4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $441.92 and last traded at $440.91. Approximately 201,649 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 343,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MUSA shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price objective on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $457.50.

Murphy USA Stock Up 4.7%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $412.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $393.66. The company has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.04, 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.96 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 3,967 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,785,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $52,825,050. The trade was a 3.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.19, for a total transaction of $456,444.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $609,778.17. This trade represents a 42.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 14,833 shares of company stock valued at $6,154,491 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,267,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in Murphy USA by 230.3% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 2,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TMB Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $556,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.