Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $510.80.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $485.65 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $502.01 and its 200-day moving average is $506.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.07 and a beta of 0.79. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $382.04 and a 52 week high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 26.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a $0.49 dividend. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.10%.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 74,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,586,000 after purchasing an additional 4,390 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 4,508 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,262,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015 shares during the last quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 863 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 62.0% in the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 1,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $701,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc engages in marketing of retail motor fuel products and convenience merchandise. The company operates retail stores under the Murphy USA, Murphy Express, and QuickChek brands, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.