Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Melius began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, April 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $550.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $539.00.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $511.03 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $469.98 and its 200 day moving average is $493.26. The firm has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $382.04 and a 52-week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Research analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.49 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $50,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 37.0% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 186.1% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Finally, CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter worth about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.