Insider Selling: Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Sells 2,268 Shares of Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Jennifer Bridges sold 2,268 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $365.41, for a total transaction of $828,749.88. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,850 shares in the company, valued at $1,041,418.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $364.95 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $355.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $319.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The company has a market cap of $7.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 0.75. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.65 and a twelve month high of $382.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The specialty retailer reported $7.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.08 by $1.61. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 71.06%. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.83 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $9.28 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 22.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 3rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 3.6% during the third quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Murphy USA by 34.2% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in Murphy USA by 2.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,983 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 0.7% during the first quarter. First Republic Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,221 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,244,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 70.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 111 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MUSA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 25th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $362.00 to $360.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $410.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $348.00.

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. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.