Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Director Sells $511,360.00 in Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Director David Goebel sold 1,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.36, for a total value of $511,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 796 shares in the company, valued at $407,042.56. This represents a 55.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $515.12 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $521.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $516.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1-year low of $352.42 and a 1-year high of $636.04. The stock has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.31.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The specialty retailer reported $9.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.37 by $1.22. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 92.81%. The firm had revenue of $6.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 34.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 35.24 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 4th will be given a dividend of $0.72 per share. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 4th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.07%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MUSA. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $612.00 to $621.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Murphy USA from $633.00 to $626.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $606.33.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,724,000. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 146,119 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,986,000 after purchasing an additional 27,513 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,771,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,358,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth about $950,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA Inc is a U.S. operator of retail fuel and convenience stores. The company sells gasoline and diesel fuel along with tobacco products, packaged beverages, snacks, candy, grocery items, general merchandise and other convenience products. Many locations also offer prepared food and related services.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, with a network concentrated primarily in the Southern, Southeastern and Midwestern United States. Murphy USA locations are commonly situated near Walmart stores, while Murphy Express sites generally operate as standalone convenience stores.