Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Stephens

Stephens upgraded shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.1 %

MUSA stock opened at $463.44 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.73. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $382.04 and a 12 month high of $561.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $469.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $492.59.

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

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.42%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total transaction of $360,491.07. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. The trade was a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 36.2% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 591 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $278,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 53,469.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 553,906 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $260,231,000 after acquiring an additional 552,872 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Murphy USA by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,539 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,284,000 after purchasing an additional 755 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,563,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. 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.