StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA)

Posted by Jared Coughlin on Mar 19th, 2023

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) in a research note published on Thursday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. They issued a sector perform rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $335.00 to $305.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $314.60.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $244.50 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $261.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $278.16. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $185.52 and a twelve month high of $323.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.81.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The specialty retailer reported $5.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.16 by ($0.95). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 90.90% and a net margin of 2.87%. The business had revenue of $5.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.40 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.23 EPS. Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 18.4 EPS for the current year.

Murphy USA Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Murphy USA’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. Murphy USA’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 47.6% during the 2nd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. BerganKDV Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 85.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Murphy USA

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Murphy USA, Inc engages in marketing motor fuel products and convenience merchandise through retail stores, namely Murphy USA and Murphy Express. It collaborates with Walmart to offer customers discounted and free items based on purchases of qualifying fuel and merchandise. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, AR.