Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Director Sells $552,436.08 in Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:MUSA opened at $567.65 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.28. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $349.83 and a 52 week high of $636.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $576.44 and a 200 day moving average of $519.25.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $1.32. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $7.36 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th will be given a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.80%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $619.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.89.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Murphy USA by 106.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth about $37,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.5% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 148.5% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 82 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.