Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

MUSA has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $464.57.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $473.37. The company had a trading volume of 120,502 shares, compared to its average volume of 198,535. The stock has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $350.55 and a 52 week high of $552.30. The business's 50-day moving average is $499.98 and its 200-day moving average is $473.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 23.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio is presently 7.28%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at $203,955,423.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Murphy USA by 141.4% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 777.8% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at about $69,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.1% during the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.