Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Price Target Lowered to $525.00 at KeyCorp

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its target price reduced by KeyCorp from $550.00 to $525.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MUSA. Melius Research raised Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Raymond James cut Murphy USA from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Melius started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $526.29.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MUSA opened at $445.45 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $476.03 and its 200 day moving average is $494.07. The stock has a market cap of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41 and a beta of 0.59. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $420.92 and a 1-year high of $561.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The specialty retailer reported $2.63 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.87 by ($1.24). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. The business had revenue of $4.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.79 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 12th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.26%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares in the company, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its position in Murphy USA by 37.6% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 6,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,199,000 after buying an additional 1,862 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 144,202 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $67,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,599 shares in the last quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth about $6,697,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its position in Murphy USA by 100.7% during the 1st quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 2,208 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.