Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Melius Research

Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

MUSA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.67.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $448.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.53 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $382.04 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $481.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $500.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.10%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $895,046,000 after purchasing an additional 32,643 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $291,068,000 after purchasing an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.