Insider Selling: Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) SVP Sells $297,011.33 in Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSAGet Free Report) SVP Keith Emery sold 517 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total value of $297,011.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $287,245. This represents a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $556.12 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24. Murphy USA Inc. has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $609.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $513.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $440.05. The firm has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.36.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSAGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 31.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 18th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is 8.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 10.2% during 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 during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $603,000. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $596,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter worth about $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MUSA shares. Stephens cut their target price on Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $503.71.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MUSA

About Murphy USA

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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.

Further Reading

Insider Buying and Selling by Quarter for Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA)

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