Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday.

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $509.40.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $481.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $523.10 and its 200-day moving average is $505.16. Murphy USA has a one year low of $350.55 and a one year high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $5.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $7.69 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $291,068,000 after purchasing an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 49,501.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 388,874 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,664,000 after purchasing an additional 388,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 388,271 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $191,407,000 after buying an additional 16,006 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.