Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Hits New 52-Week High at $524.95

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $524.95 and last traded at $522.72, with a volume of 38398 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $508.33.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on MUSA shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Raymond James boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.50.

Murphy USA Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.33 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $499.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $454.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The business had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s payout ratio is 7.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock worth $16,564,666. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,091.4% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,063,000 after buying an additional 13,250 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the first quarter worth about $1,258,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 21.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,991,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911 shares during the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth about $8,949,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in Murphy USA by 10.3% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.