Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Reaches New 52-Week High at $552.30

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $552.30 and last traded at $552.30, with a volume of 14936 shares. The stock had previously closed at $533.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MUSA has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 17th. Raymond James raised their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $469.50.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.0 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $505.29 and a 200-day moving average of $458.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.02 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA Inc. will post 24.43 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.33%. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $203,955,423.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Murphy USA news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total value of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total value of $8,621,117.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 396,384 shares in the company, valued at $203,955,423.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 1,091.4% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 14,464 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,063,000 after acquiring an additional 13,250 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,258,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in Murphy USA by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 16,673 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,991,000 after buying an additional 2,911 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the fourth quarter worth $8,949,000. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in Murphy USA by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after purchasing an additional 1,254 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

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.