Insider Selling: Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Sells 1,219 Shares of Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Renee Bacon sold 1,219 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.09, for a total value of $470,643.71. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,288,355.43. This trade represents a 17.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Murphy USA Stock Up 6.0%

Murphy USA stock traded up $22.94 during trading on Friday, hitting $407.77. 540,455 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 347,425. The company has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $413.22 and its 200 day moving average is $391.91. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52 week low of $345.23 and a 52 week high of $523.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 10.38%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,705 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,524,000 after acquiring an additional 4,468 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Murphy USA by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 138,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,967,000 after acquiring an additional 23,349 shares during the period. Southernsun Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 13.7% during the second quarter. Southernsun Asset Management LLC now owns 74,908 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,473,000 after purchasing an additional 9,051 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 60.1% during the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 13,667 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,405,000 after purchasing an additional 5,128 shares during the period. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 2.7% in the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 34,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,197,000 after purchasing an additional 907 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Stephens reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 target price on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $457.50.

About Murphy USA

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.