Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $509.40.

A number of analysts have commented on MUSA shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $501.80 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $522.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $504.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $350.55 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The stock has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70 and a beta of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. The business had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $7.69 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 23.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 4th were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 4th. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.38%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.92%.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 16.3% during the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $437,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 5.6% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth $174,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at approximately $474,000. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth $465,000. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.