Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday.

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

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $440.45 on Friday. 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 has a 1 year low of $382.04 and a 1 year high of $561.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $474.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $497.37. The firm has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted 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, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.10%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

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 value of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the sale, 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $935,465,000 after buying an additional 54,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $895,046,000 after acquiring an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $291,068,000 after acquiring an additional 8,507 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.