Scott Woodward Sells 137 Shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Scott Woodward sold 137 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.44, for a total transaction of $57,874.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $435.02 on Wednesday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $523.09. The stock has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $413.72 and a 200-day moving average of $394.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47.

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

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $429.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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