Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $477.36, but opened at $490.00. Murphy USA shares last traded at $492.8520, with a volume of 67,997 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $447.33.

Murphy USA Price Performance

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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $422.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $401.00. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.40.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. The business 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 company’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.96 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total transaction of $1,721,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $49,890,325. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total transaction of $1,105,206.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 14,970 shares of company stock valued at $6,212,365 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,393 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $973,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 40,843 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $16,615,000 after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 6.1% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 60,024 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $24,418,000 after acquiring an additional 3,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 29.2% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,590 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.