Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Monday.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, October 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $200.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Murphy USA from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $305.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Monday. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $315.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, October 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, December 14th. They set a sector perform rating and a $360.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $325.60.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.7 %

MUSA opened at $258.33 on Monday. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $164.30 and a twelve month high of $323.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.34. The company has a fifty day moving average of $281.40 and a 200-day moving average of $283.98. The stock has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.86.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 26th. The specialty retailer reported $9.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.82 by $1.46. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 84.93%. The company had revenue of $6.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.96 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 26.99 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Murphy USA by 47.6% during the second quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 121 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. 85.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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Murphy USA, Inc engages in marketing motor fuel products and convenience merchandise through retail stores, namely Murphy USA and Murphy Express. It collaborates with Walmart to offer customers discounted and free items based on purchases of qualifying fuel and merchandise. The company was founded on March 1, 2013 and is headquartered in El Dorado, AR.