Insider Selling: Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Sells 2,844 Shares of Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Renee Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of MUSA stock traded down $3.98 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $387.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 176,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 343,091. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $7.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $413.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $392.74. Murphy USA Inc. has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $523.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.96 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 10.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MUSA. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Stephens reduced their price target on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $457.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Enhancing Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 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.