Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

MUSA has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective 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, August 1st. Raymond James upped their price objective on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $469.50.

Murphy USA Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $511.48 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.46 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average is $486.71 and its 200 day moving average is $439.91. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $307.45 and a 12-month high of $521.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20.

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

Insider Activity

In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Donald R. Smith, Jr. sold 854 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $438.75, for a total transaction of $374,692.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 20,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,818,436.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 16,755 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.54, for a total transaction of $8,621,117.70. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 396,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,955,423.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,455 shares of company stock worth $20,492,084. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 777.8% during the 1st 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 during the period. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Murphy USA by 394.7% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delta Asset Management LLC TN lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 70.7% in the 4th quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 128 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Murphy USA

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.