Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and increased their target price for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $464.57.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA opened at $499.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $339.96 and a 52-week high of $552.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The business has a fifty day moving average of $509.93 and a 200 day moving average of $464.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.02 EPS. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 24.14 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.55%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666 over the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at about $1,251,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,599 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 8.7% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,233 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 141,637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $66,493,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 229 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 Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.