Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Upgraded by KeyCorp to Strong-Buy Rating

KeyCorp upgraded shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Thursday, April 10th,Zacks.com reports.

MUSA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Melius assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Stephens raised shares of Murphy USA to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $539.00.

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Murphy USA Trading Up 0.9 %

MUSA traded up $4.81 on Thursday, reaching $511.27. 49,314 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 204,764. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $468.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $492.85. Murphy USA has a one year low of $382.04 and a one year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.38%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company's 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 approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $935,465,000 after acquiring an additional 54,658 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $895,046,000 after acquiring an additional 32,643 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position 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. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.