Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Melius Research to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.
Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 15th. 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. Melius began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $525.67.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on MUSA
Murphy USA Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $469.68 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41 and a beta of 0.80. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $483.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $501.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $382.04 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08.
Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 61.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current year.
Insider Activity at Murphy USA
In other Murphy USA news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 797 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.10, for a total transaction of $395,391.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total value of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,695,043. 9.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth about $220,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 74,910 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $37,586,000 after buying an additional 4,390 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 29.1% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 4,508 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,262,000 after buying an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 863 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.81% of the company's stock.
About Murphy USA
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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