Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) shares traded down 6.4% on Monday . The company traded as low as $580.45 and last traded at $582.9720. 18,537 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 342,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at $622.53.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. 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 target for the company. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. 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 report on Thursday, April 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $515.14.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Murphy USA
Murphy USA Trading Down 6.1%
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Murphy USA Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Monday, May 18th were paid a dividend of $0.64 per share. This represents a $2.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 18th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.85%.
Insider Activity at Murphy USA
In other news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,632,263.52. This represents a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Keith A. 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 transaction of $297,011.33. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $287,245. This represents a 50.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392 over the last three months. Insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 149.9% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 507,418 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,753,000 after purchasing an additional 304,354 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,267,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 318.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 424,818 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $164,940,000 after acquiring an additional 323,331 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 45.6% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 318,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $128,511,000 after acquiring an additional 99,798 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Murphy USA by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 300,758 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $121,365,000 after acquiring an additional 1,930 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.
Murphy USA Company Profile
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.
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