Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA) To Go Ex-Dividend on February 24th

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of 0.49 per share by the specialty retailer on Wednesday, March 5th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48.

Murphy USA has raised its dividend payment by an average of 19.8% annually over the last three years. Murphy USA has a payout ratio of 6.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Murphy USA to earn $28.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.8%.

Murphy USA Trading Down 3.4 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $445.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $495.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $505.01. The stock has a market cap of $9.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.40 and a beta of 0.79. Murphy USA has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 9.04% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $510.80.

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.