Key Points
- Murphy USA SVP Keith Emery sold 517 shares on May 15 at an average price of $574.49, totaling about $297,011. After the sale, he retained 500 shares, cutting his ownership by roughly 50.8%.
- The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $7.28 versus analyst expectations of $5.37 and revenue of $4.82 billion, topping estimates and rising 6.5% year over year.
- Murphy USA raised its quarterly dividend to $0.64 per share from $0.63, payable June 1, while analysts currently hold a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average target price of $503.71.
Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) SVP Keith Emery sold 517 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,245. The trade was a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.
Murphy USA Price Performance
NYSE:MUSA opened at $564.92 on Tuesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $609.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.36. The firm's fifty day moving average is $508.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $437.43.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.8 EPS for the current year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Murphy USA's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA's payout ratio is currently 8.71%.
Institutional Trading of Murphy USA
A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Murphy USA from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $503.71.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Murphy USA
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.
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