Wells Fargo & Company Raises Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Price Target to $560.00

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its target price upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $540.00 to $560.00 in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $470.00 target price on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $425.00 to $530.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $469.50.

Murphy USA Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MUSA traded down $3.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $509.32. 209,614 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 214,056. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $473.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $430.22. Murphy USA has a one year low of $297.36 and a one year high of $521.54. The company has a market cap of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.02 earnings per share. Murphy USA’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 24.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were issued a $0.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 17th. This is a boost from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.35%. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.39%.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $440.32, for a total transaction of $4,575,805.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 199,563 shares in the company, valued at $87,871,580.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 10,392 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $440.32, for a total value of $4,575,805.44. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 199,563 shares in the company, valued at $87,871,580.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total value of $374,692.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,099 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Murphy USA by 191.7% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Murphy USA by 141.4% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 777.8% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 79 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 394.7% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 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.