Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Receives $525.67 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $525.67.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MUSA. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated 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 $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated 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 $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 5.4% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $193,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Murphy USA by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management grew its stake in Murphy USA by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 8,938 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,485,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $438.17 on Tuesday. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $475.36 and a 200-day moving average of $497.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. 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 (DPR) is 8.10%.

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.