Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $596.4444.

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $619.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,245. This trade represents a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. The trade was a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 4,567 shares of company stock worth $2,494,673 in the last 90 days. 9.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 149.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,753,000 after purchasing an additional 304,354 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.6% in the 4th 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. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 318,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $128,511,000 after acquiring an additional 99,798 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Murphy USA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 300,758 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $121,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 676.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,243,000 after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.4%

Murphy USA stock opened at $590.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $574.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $508.07. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $349.83 and a twelve month high of $636.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.85%.

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.