Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Cut to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on MUSA. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $619.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $606.89.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $512.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.92. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $349.83 and a fifty-two week high of $636.04. The firm has a market cap of $9.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $539.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $543.78.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.95 by $1.32. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 96.01%. The company had revenue of $6.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $7.36 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 34.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 24th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 24th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is presently 7.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the sale, the director 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 100 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total transaction of $52,360.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 252 shares in the company, valued at $131,947.20. The trade was a 28.41% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CX Institutional bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Finally, Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc operates a nationwide network of retail gasoline stations and convenience stores in the United States. Its stores sell branded and unbranded motor fuel, tobacco products, nicotine products, beverages, snacks, packaged food, and other convenience items. Some locations also offer additional services such as lottery products and car washes.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, primarily in proximity to Walmart stores and along major roads.