Bank of America Upgrades Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) to “Neutral”

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $550.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock, up from their prior target price of $350.00. Bank of America‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 3.52% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on MUSA. KeyCorp set a $500.00 price objective on Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Murphy USA from $467.00 to $445.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $539.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Murphy USA from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $483.43.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

MUSA opened at $531.28 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $9.83 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $461.26 and a 200-day moving average of $418.46. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $539.71. 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) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The specialty retailer reported $7.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.67 by $0.86. The company 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 firm’s revenue was up .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Renee M. Bacon sold 2,844 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.61, for a total transaction of $1,105,206.84. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 3,083 shares in the company, valued at $1,198,084.63. The trade was a 47.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Malynda K. West sold 3,967 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total value of $1,785,150.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,389 shares in the company, valued at $52,825,050. This represents a 3.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 10,919 shares of company stock worth $4,490,690 in the last ninety days. 9.02% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Murphy USA by 82.4% during the fourth 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. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in Murphy USA by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 317.6% during 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 period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 423.1% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 68 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently 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.