Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Director Sells $1,641,750.00 in Stock

Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSAGet Free Report) Director Diane Landen sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.9%

NYSE:MUSA traded up $10.45 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $556.64. 289,139 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 343,580. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The firm has a market cap of $10.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.30. Murphy USA Inc. has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $609.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $531.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $455.67.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSAGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. Murphy USA’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy USA Inc. will post 32.32 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 317.6% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MUSA. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began 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 on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.71.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MUSA

Murphy USA Company Profile

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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.

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

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