Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Up 7.6% – What’s Next?

by · The Markets Daily

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) shares shot up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $593.00 and last traded at $598.5060. 80,057 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 340,732 shares. The stock had previously closed at $556.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp raised their target price on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Bank of America upgraded Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.71.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on MUSA

Murphy USA Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The firm has a market cap of $11.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $532.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $456.91.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 18th. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total transaction of $24,773,840.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 342,212 shares in the company, valued at $204,286,875.52. The trade was a 10.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total value of $94,879.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares in the company, valued at $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 46,225 shares of company stock worth $27,363,392 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $6,874,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 132,705 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $51,524,000 after buying an additional 4,468 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 22,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,775,000 after buying an additional 2,939 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 63,638 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $24,708,000 after buying an additional 3,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $1,029,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.

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