KeyCorp Cuts Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Price Target to $525.00

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its target price trimmed by KeyCorp from $550.00 to $525.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on MUSA. Stephens raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $526.29.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $445.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $476.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $494.07. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $420.92 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. The company had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be issued a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 12th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 over the last ninety days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $260,231,000 after buying an additional 552,872 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at $112,741,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at $53,777,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 61.5% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 252,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $118,662,000 after buying an additional 96,200 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.