Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Receives Overweight Rating from Stephens

Stephens restated their overweight rating on shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Stephens currently has a $470.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price objective for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $404.60.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $412.93 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.95. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $256.93 and a 52-week high of $430.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $405.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $377.74.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.35 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total value of $627,415.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,670 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,098,491.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582. 9.73% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 35,556.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,241,000 after acquiring an additional 269,159 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth approximately $81,560,000. Virginia Retirement Systems ET AL bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,142,000. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 76.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 379,886 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $106,194,000 after purchasing an additional 164,519 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,209,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

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.