Brokerages Set Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Target Price at $606.89

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $606.8889.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Bank of America raised their target price on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd.

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total value of $52,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $131,947.20. This represents a 28.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,874,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 23.2% in the first quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 146,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $71,986,000 after acquiring an additional 27,513 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 130.9% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 12,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,177,000 after acquiring an additional 7,090 shares in the last quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,946,000. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 145.2% in the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 9,329 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,764,000 after purchasing an additional 5,525 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of MUSA opened at $508.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.25. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $349.83 and a 52-week high of $636.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $560.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $538.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted 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. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%.The firm had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $7.36 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 34.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 24th were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 24th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.64. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.92%.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc (NYSE:MUSA) operates a network of retail fuel stations and convenience stores in the United States. Its locations primarily serve motorists and local communities, offering gasoline and diesel fuel along with convenience merchandise.

The company’s stores sell products such as tobacco, nicotine products, beverages, snacks, packaged food, and other general merchandise. Many locations also provide prepared food and other convenience services, with product offerings designed to complement the company’s fuel business.

Murphy USA was established as an independent publicly traded company in 2013 following its separation from Murphy Oil Corporation.