Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Renee Bacon Sells 1,050 Shares

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Renee Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,632,263.52. This represents a 25.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Murphy USA Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $515.22 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $522.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $446.14. The company has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $609.82.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a $0.64 dividend. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 8.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 149.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,753,000 after buying an additional 304,354 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,267,000 after buying an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 318.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $164,940,000 after buying an additional 323,331 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 318,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $128,511,000 after buying an additional 99,798 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 300,758 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $121,365,000 after buying an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.