Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $606.33 According to Analysts

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $606.33.

Several analysts have issued reports on MUSA shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $633.00 to $626.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $612.00 to $621.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $517.80 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $521.78 and its 200-day moving average is $517.50. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $352.42 and a 52-week high of $636.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The specialty retailer reported $9.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.37 by $1.22. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 92.81% and a net margin of 2.85%. The business had revenue of $6.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 34.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 35.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be given a $0.72 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 4th. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.07%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director David Goebel sold 1,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.36, for a total transaction of $511,360.00. Following the sale, the director owned 796 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $407,042.56. This trade represents a 55.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the sale, the director owned 449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,774.12. This represents a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 3,526 shares of company stock worth $1,869,005 over the last quarter. 9.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc. operates retail gasoline stations and convenience stores across the United States under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands. Its stores sell branded and unbranded gasoline and diesel fuel, along with convenience items such as beverages, snacks, tobacco products and other everyday merchandise. The company’s locations are concentrated in the South, Midwest and other parts of the country, including stores associated with its QuickChek brand in the Northeast. Murphy USA became an independent publicly traded company in 2013 after being spun off from Murphy Oil Corporation.