Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock: Insider Donald Smith, Jr. Sells 1,460 Shares

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) CFO Donald Smith, Jr. sold 1,460 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $515.65, for a total transaction of $752,849.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 21,227 shares in the company, valued at $10,945,702.55. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $502.21 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $521.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $515.84. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $352.42 and a 1 year high of $636.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The specialty retailer reported $9.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.37 by $1.22. The company had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 92.81% and a net margin of 2.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 34.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 35.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be paid a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $633.00 to $626.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $612.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CX Institutional acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc is a U.S. operator of retail fuel and convenience stores. The company sells gasoline and diesel fuel along with tobacco products, packaged beverages, snacks, candy, grocery items, general merchandise and other convenience products. Many locations also offer prepared food and related services.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, with a network concentrated primarily in the Southern, Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Murphy USA locations are commonly situated near Walmart stores, while Murphy Express sites generally operate as standalone convenience stores.