Brokerages Set Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Price Target at $408.60

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $408.60.

Several analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,607,700.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total value of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,440 shares of company stock worth $4,244,582. 9.73% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $274,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 3.8% in the first quarter. SYSTM Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 844 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $411.20 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $415.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $384.59. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $268.69 and a twelve month high of $430.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15. The company has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 0.76.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.79 by $1.21. The firm had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 70.92% and a net margin of 2.59%. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.21 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 26.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.59%.

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.