StockNews.com Downgrades Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Raymond James upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a neutral rating to an underweight rating and increased their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $464.57.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $499.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $509.93 and a 200 day moving average of $464.39. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $339.96 and a 12 month high of $552.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 24.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was 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 directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at $203,955,423.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 245,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $102,797,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Murphy USA by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $95,940,000 after acquiring an additional 1,560 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 141,637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $66,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% in the first quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 127,160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 14.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 97,011 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $45,543,000 after purchasing an additional 12,336 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.