Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $477.36, but opened at $490.00. Murphy USA shares last traded at $492.8520, with a volume of 67,997 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on MUSA shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 target price on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $447.33.

Murphy USA Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $422.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $401.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.40.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 75.75%. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.96 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total transaction of $139,669.80. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,503.68. The trade was a 49.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $395.19, for a total value of $456,444.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,778.17. The trade was a 42.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,970 shares of company stock valued at $6,212,365. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 953 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $385,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 1.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 7,973 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.