Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Hits New 12-Month High at $514.55

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $514.55 and last traded at $511.76, with a volume of 6822 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $511.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MUSA shares. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $428.83.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $463.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $422.98. The stock has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.09 by ($0.97). The business had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.89 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 64.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.80 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.82 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 20th were given a dividend of $0.44 per share. This represents a $1.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total transaction of $374,692.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.32, for a total transaction of $4,575,805.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 199,563 shares in the company, valued at $87,871,580.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at $8,818,436.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,451 shares of company stock valued at $5,032,498. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. LSV Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 96,230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,312,000 after purchasing an additional 8,500 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1,091.4% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,063,000 after buying an additional 13,250 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at $1,258,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 21.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,991,000 after buying an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $8,949,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

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.