Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MUSA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price objective on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $447.33.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of MUSA opened at $497.53 on Friday. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $523.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $425.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $403.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.40.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.96 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total transaction of $343,894.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total value of $1,105,206.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 14,970 shares of company stock worth $6,212,365 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Enhancing Capital LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

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.