Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was downgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

MUSA has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Murphy USA to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock opened at $438.17 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $475.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $497.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $8.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $382.04 and a twelve month high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This trade represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043 in the last three months. Company insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MUSA. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $112,741,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 69.9% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after buying an additional 176,308 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the 4th quarter valued at $53,777,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,751,206 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $863,116,000 after acquiring an additional 99,253 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth $30,122,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

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.