Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

MUSA has been the subject of several other research reports. Melius began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Melius Research upgraded Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $440.45 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $474.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $497.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $382.04 and a 12-month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.10%.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,349 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,062,476.19. This trade represents a 25.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the third quarter worth $433,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 6,129 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,021,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Murphy USA by 94.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,736 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,841,000 after buying an additional 1,819 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 64.2% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 330 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.4% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 15,865 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,819,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% 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.