Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Rating Reiterated by Stephens

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by Stephens in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $410.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. Stephens’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.23% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on MUSA. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Murphy USA from $330.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Murphy USA from $362.00 to $360.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $252.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $348.00.

Murphy USA Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of MUSA stock opened at $378.84 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $344.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $312.30. The company has a market cap of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $231.65 and a 12 month high of $382.04.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 1st. The specialty retailer reported $7.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.08 by $1.61. The firm had revenue of $5.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.83 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 74.63%. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.28 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 21.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 32,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.23, for a total transaction of $10,013,202.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,729 shares in the company, valued at $53,758,446.67. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Murphy USA news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 32,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $311.23, for a total value of $10,013,202.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,758,446.67. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.31, for a total value of $211,617.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 70,815 shares of company stock worth $22,153,785 over the last quarter. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pinebridge Investments L.P. grew its position in Murphy USA by 136.1% during the second quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 85 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Murphy USA by 70.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 111 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 34.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 522.9% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 218 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. 83.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Murphy USA

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. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.