Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director Jeanne Linder Phillips Sells 797 Shares of Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $467.01 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $487.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $502.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30 and a beta of 0.79. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $510.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,741,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at $53,387,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $53,777,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $863,116,000 after purchasing an additional 99,253 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.