Bank of America Begins Coverage on Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA)

Investment analysts at Bank of America started coverage on shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “underperform” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $480.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research raised Murphy USA from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $474.00.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $427.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $390.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $391.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.07, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.81. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $523.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.00 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01 and a beta of 0.39.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.60 by $0.65. The business had revenue of $5.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.11 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.43% and a return on equity of 69.87%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Murphy USA news, CEO Malynda K. West sold 4,051 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.00, for a total transaction of $1,721,675.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $49,890,325. The trade was a 3.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 16,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $381.33, for a total value of $6,196,612.50. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 59,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,564,058.76. This trade represents a 21.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 45,034 shares of company stock valued at $17,349,722 in the last 90 days. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MUSA. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Murphy USA by 82.4% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 317.6% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 71 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 423.1% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 80.81% of the stock is owned by 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.