Wells Fargo & Company Raises Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Price Target to $570.00

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $520.00 to $570.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential downside of 6.58% from the company’s current price.

MUSA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Murphy USA from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $510.00 to $517.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Capital One Financial started coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Monday, June 22nd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $710.00 target price for the company. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Murphy USA from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $585.11.

Murphy USA Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $610.12 on Monday. 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 has a market cap of $11.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.30. Murphy USA has a 1 year low of $345.23 and a 1 year high of $636.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $563.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $495.15.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. The company had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.70 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 91.05% and a net margin of 2.81%.Murphy USA’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 32.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Diane N. Landen sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $547.25, for a total transaction of $1,641,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 53,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,464,487.25. This represents a 5.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $287,245. This represents a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Kenora Financial LLC boosted its position 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 worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 3.0% during 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 in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.