Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Trading 7.6% Higher – Time to Buy?

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) traded up 7.6% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $593.00 and last traded at $598.5060. 80,057 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 340,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $556.33.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $503.71.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.5%

The company has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $537.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $460.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.32 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total transaction of $94,879.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares in the company, valued at $285,838. The trade was a 24.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,245. This represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Murphy USA by 82.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in Murphy USA by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 317.6% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd 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. 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.