Renee Bacon Sells 1,050 Shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Renee Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total value of $555,912.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. This trade represents a 25.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $511.63 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12 month low of $345.23 and a 12 month high of $609.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $523.29 and its 200-day moving average is $447.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The company has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.36.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its 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 return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.48 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th will be paid a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 8.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Stephens cut their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.71.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 318.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $164,940,000 after purchasing an additional 323,331 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 149.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,753,000 after purchasing an additional 304,354 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 676.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 170,215 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,243,000 after purchasing an additional 148,301 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at $50,726,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,723.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 132,450 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,446,000 after purchasing an additional 125,185 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.