Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Director Sells $552,436.08 in Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,774.12. The trade was a 68.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Murphy USA Stock Up 0.0%

MUSA traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $568.51. 221,431 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 332,798. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $349.83 and a 12-month high of $636.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $578.58 and a 200 day moving average of $517.88. The firm has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $1.32. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The firm’s revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.36 EPS. Analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 33.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.80%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $915,734,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 149.9% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,753,000 after acquiring an additional 304,354 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $204,267,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 318,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $128,511,000 after acquiring an additional 99,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 300,758 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $121,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $655.00 to $633.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.89.

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.