Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Price Target Lowered to $537.00 at Royal Bank of Canada

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its target price cut by Royal Bank of Canada from $538.00 to $537.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector perform rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Raymond James upped their price target on Murphy USA from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $450.33.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded down $2.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $512.56. 96,224 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 213,130. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $282.49 and a 52 week high of $521.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $472.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $428.56.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.59%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 24.83 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, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.34%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $82,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Murphy USA news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total transaction of $374,692.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,818,436.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 205 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $82,000.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,451 shares of company stock worth $5,032,498. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 6,261 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Murphy USA by 191.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,241,000 after acquiring an additional 269,159 shares in the last quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. Narus Financial Partners LLC now owns 960 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 1,146.7% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 64,193 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $22,889,000 after acquiring an additional 59,044 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.