Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Raised to Neutral at Bank of America
by Jessica Moore · The Cerbat GemMurphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage currently has a $550.00 price objective on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $350.00. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.04% from the stock’s current price.
A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on MUSA. Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price target on Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $469.14.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Murphy USA
Murphy USA Price Performance
NYSE MUSA opened at $518.70 on Thursday. Murphy USA has a one year low of $345.23 and a one year high of $530.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $455.83 and a 200 day moving average of $416.61. The company has a market capitalization of $9.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.23. 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 (NYSE:MUSA – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.67 by $0.86. The business had revenue of $4.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.88 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 75.75% and a net margin of 2.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.96 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 25.52 EPS for the current year.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Murphy USA news, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 899 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.53, for a total value of $343,894.47. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 137 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $422.44, for a total value of $57,874.28. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 10,919 shares of company stock valued at $4,490,690 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.02% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Trading of Murphy USA
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MUSA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 82.4% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 106.7% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in Murphy USA during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 317.6% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
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.