Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Price Down 4% – Here’s Why

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) fell 4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $450.00 and last traded at $454.41. 84,719 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 351,407 shares. The stock had previously closed at $473.17.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $429.00.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.8%

The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $421.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $400.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.96 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.38%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total transaction of $1,721,675.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $49,890,325. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric J. Bartko sold 345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.84, for a total transaction of $139,669.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142,503.68. This trade represents a 49.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 14,970 shares of company stock worth $6,212,365 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Enhancing Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the third quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $571,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.4% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.