Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $474.00.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating for the company.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 16,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total transaction of $6,196,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 59,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,564,058.76. The trade was a 21.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total value of $1,721,675.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,890,325. This trade represents a 3.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 45,034 shares of company stock worth $17,349,722 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $440.62 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $398.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $392.87. The stock has a market cap of $8.25 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.39. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $523.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.60 by $0.65. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 69.87%. The firm had revenue of $5.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.11 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 10th were paid a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 10th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 10.63%.

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.