Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Monday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Capital One Financial assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered Murphy USA from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $619.00 to $612.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $606.11.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $542.51 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.29. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $529.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $547.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $349.83 and a 1-year high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.36 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 34.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total transaction of $52,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,947.20. This represents a 28.41% 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, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,774.12. This represents a 68.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Kenora Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 826 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $416,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 802 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc is a U.S. operator of retail fuel and convenience stores. The company sells gasoline and diesel fuel along with tobacco products, packaged beverages, snacks, candy, grocery items, general merchandise and other convenience products. Many locations also offer prepared food and related services.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, with a network concentrated primarily in the Southern, Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Murphy USA locations are commonly situated near Walmart stores, while Murphy Express sites generally operate as standalone convenience stores.