Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Upgraded at Stephens

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

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Melius assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA stock opened at $476.65 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $468.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $492.35. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08.

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, topping 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company’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 value of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. The trade was a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 in the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 111,400.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $523,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 36.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 591 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $260,231,000 after purchasing an additional 552,872 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Murphy USA by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,284,000 after buying an additional 755 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,563,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Murphy USA

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.