Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Lowered to Buy Rating by Wall Street Zen

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Murphy USA from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $350.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $560.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $503.71.

Murphy USA Trading Down 1.1%

MUSA opened at $505.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $524.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $447.60. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $345.23 and a 1-year high of $609.82.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.37 by $1.91. The firm had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.63 EPS. Analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 31.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.44, for a total transaction of $555,912.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,632,263.52. The trade was a 25.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total transaction of $94,879.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,838. The trade was a 24.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 43,362 shares of company stock worth $25,779,517. 9.02% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kenora Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the period. Enhancing Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,470 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $571,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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.