Murphy USA Inc. to Issue Dividend of $0.48 (NYSE:MUSA)

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) announced a dividend on Thursday, October 24th, NASDAQ reports. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th will be given a dividend of 0.48 per share by the specialty retailer on Monday, December 2nd. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 4th.

Murphy USA has increased its dividend payment by an average of 83.7% annually over the last three years. Murphy USA has a payout ratio of 6.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Murphy USA to earn $27.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 6.6%.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.3 %

MUSA stock traded up $1.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $473.33. 120,502 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 198,535. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.14 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA has a one year low of $350.55 and a one year high of $552.30. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $500.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $472.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 23.97 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at $203,955,423.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $464.57.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.