Murphy USA Inc. (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 20th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 8th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the specialty retailer on Thursday, December 1st. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 7th. This is an increase from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.
Murphy USA has a payout ratio of 8.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Murphy USA to earn $16.47 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 7.8%.
Murphy USA Stock Up 2.2 %
MUSA opened at $283.18 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $284.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $260.09. The company has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.87. Murphy USA has a 1 year low of $160.74 and a 1 year high of $303.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 1.03.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 27th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.35 by $2.18. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.58% and a return on equity of 68.86%. The firm had revenue of $6.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $4.79 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 51.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 25.3 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.48, for a total transaction of $14,274,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 463,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $132,326,831.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 50,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.48, for a total transaction of $14,274,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 463,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $132,326,831.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 1,121 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.43, for a total value of $327,814.03. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 17,998 shares in the company, valued at $5,263,155.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA
A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 110.0% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 548 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $201,000. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in Murphy USA in the 1st quarter valued at $306,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the first quarter worth $308,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Murphy USA by 10.7% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,525 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 87.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages have issued reports on MUSA. StockNews.com raised shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Murphy USA from $230.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Friday, July 29th. Stephens raised their price objective on Murphy USA from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Murphy USA from $200.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $264.50.
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 of December 31, 2021, it operated 1,679 retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.
See Also
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat’s editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
Before you consider Murphy USA, you’ll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street’s top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on… and Murphy USA wasn’t on the list.
While Murphy USA currently has a “Hold” rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
