Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $525.67.

MUSA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Melius initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA opened at $440.45 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $474.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $497.29. Murphy USA has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The company has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value 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 approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 22.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 8,385 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,133,000 after buying an additional 1,526 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth $1,207,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth $11,529,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 622.9% during the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 4,048 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 3,488 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.