Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $614.24 and last traded at $612.2960, with a volume of 542247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $556.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MUSA. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price for the company. Bank of America upgraded shares of Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.71.

Murphy USA Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $534.86 and its 200-day moving average is $458.55. The stock has a market cap of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.32 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were issued a $0.64 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is currently 8.85%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,245. This trade represents a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. This trade represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392 over the last quarter. 9.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kenora Financial LLC boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 3.3% during the first quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Enhancing Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.