Insider Selling: Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Sells $94,879.00 in Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Scott Woodward sold 158 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total transaction of $94,879.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,838. This trade represents a 24.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $577.68 on Friday. Murphy USA Inc. has a 12-month low of $345.23 and a 12-month high of $609.82. The company has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.36. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $484.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $427.89.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a dividend of $0.64 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $350.00 to $550.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.71.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kenora Financial LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $707,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.