Brokerages Set Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) PT at $495.33

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $509.40.

Several brokerages have commented on MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $500.41 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $521.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $504.53. 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 has a 1 year low of $350.55 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.78.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.64 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.69 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Murphy USA by 348.4% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 139 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Key Financial Inc raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 942.9% in the third quarter. Key Financial Inc now owns 146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.1% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 135.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 186 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.