Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $525.67.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday.

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Murphy USA Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE MUSA traded up $1.63 on Tuesday, hitting $440.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 342,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,568. The company's 50-day moving average is $475.36 and its 200 day moving average is $497.92. The firm has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $382.04 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $935,465,000 after buying an additional 54,658 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $895,046,000 after acquiring an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $291,068,000 after acquiring an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $236,125,000 after acquiring an additional 18,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.