Brokerages Set Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Price Target at $464.57

by · The Markets Daily

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $464.57.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MUSA shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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. Raymond James increased their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd.

View Our Latest Report on MUSA

Murphy USA Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $492.26 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $509.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $464.95. The stock has a market cap of $10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 0.77. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $339.96 and a 12 month high of $552.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.02 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 24.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 7.55%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,971,533.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 141.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 777.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the first quarter valued at about $69,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 82.1% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter worth about $94,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Murphy USA

(Get Free Report

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.

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