Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Stephens dropped their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $475.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 6th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Thursday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Friday, January 9th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $410.00 to $400.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $447.33.

Murphy USA Price Performance

NYSE MUSA opened at $505.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $424.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $402.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.47, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.80. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $345.23 and a twelve month high of $523.09.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The company had revenue of $4.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total value of $1,105,206.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $395.19, for a total value of $456,444.45. Following the sale, the director owned 1,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $609,778.17. This trade represents a 42.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,970 shares of company stock valued at $6,212,365. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Enhancing Capital LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $707,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 4.8% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $227,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.4% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

About Murphy USA

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company’s primary operations center on two retail formats.