Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $609.82 and last traded at $575.8740, with a volume of 369286 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $604.52.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be given a $0.64 dividend. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Bank of America raised shares of Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $503.71.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $484.36 and a 200 day moving average of $427.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.36.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.The business had revenue of $4.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.8 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total value of $1,105,206.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 41,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $596.96, for a total transaction of $24,773,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 342,212 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,286,875.52. This represents a 10.82% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,610 shares of company stock worth $27,574,259. 9.02% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter worth about $227,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.