Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) to Issue Dividend of $0.48

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) declared a dividend on Thursday, October 24th, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of 0.48 per share by the specialty retailer on Monday, December 2nd. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th.

Murphy USA has increased its dividend by an average of 83.7% per year over the last three years. Murphy USA has a dividend payout ratio of 6.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Murphy USA to earn $27.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.6%.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.3 %

MUSA stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $473.33. The company had a trading volume of 120,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,535. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $500.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $472.47. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $350.55 and a 12 month high of $552.30. The stock has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.02 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 23.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MUSA shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $464.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 382,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. Company insiders own 9.04% 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.

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