Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,155 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $395.19, for a total value of $456,444.45. Following the sale, the director owned 1,543 shares in the company, valued at $609,778.17. The trade was a 42.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.
Murphy USA Stock Down 1.0%
NYSE:MUSA opened at $387.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.38. Murphy USA Inc. has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $523.09. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $412.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $392.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.96 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Murphy USA Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.38%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MUSA shares. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They issued an "underperform" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 target price on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $457.50.
View Our Latest Stock Report on MUSA
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 149.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $204,753,000 after purchasing an additional 304,354 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $204,267,000 after buying an additional 7,973 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 446,654 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $181,732,000 after buying an additional 3,447 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 318.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $164,940,000 after buying an additional 323,331 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 318,473 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $128,511,000 after buying an additional 99,798 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.
About Murphy USA
(
Get Free Report)
Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.
The company's primary operations center on two retail formats.
Further Reading
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