Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Price Up 5.4% – Still a Buy?

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)’s stock price traded up 5.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $441.92 and last traded at $440.91. 201,649 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 343,810 shares. The stock had previously closed at $418.19.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MUSA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America began coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Friday, January 9th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens decreased their price objective on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $457.50.

Murphy USA Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $411.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $393.35.

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

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 10.38%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total transaction of $1,105,206.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,198,084.63. This represents a 47.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 3,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $1,785,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $52,825,050. This trade represents a 3.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 14,833 shares of company stock valued at $6,154,491 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,267,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 230.3% in the fourth quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 2,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $986,000 after acquiring an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TMB Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at $556,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.