Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Receives $510.80 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $510.80.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MUSA. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total value of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 9.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $895,046,000 after purchasing an additional 32,643 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 8,507 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 valued at $236,125,000 after purchasing an additional 18,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $211,135,000 after purchasing an additional 176,308 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Price Performance

MUSA stock opened at $459.66 on Friday. 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 one year low of $382.04 and a one year high of $561.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $491.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $504.03.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.10%.

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.