Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Receives $495.33 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $495.33.

Several equities analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. This represents a 11.04 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,277 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $535,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at $2,539,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 21.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,991,000 after acquiring an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $529.19 on Wednesday. Murphy USA has a one year low of $350.55 and a one year high of $552.30. The company has a market capitalization of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.83 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $497.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $481.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 23.61 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.36%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

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.