Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Rating Reiterated by Stephens

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by equities researchers at Stephens in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $470.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock. Stephens’ price target suggests a potential upside of 14.42% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on MUSA. Jefferies Financial Group raised Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $375.00 to $425.00 in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $395.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. One 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 MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $404.60.

Murphy USA Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MUSA opened at $410.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.15, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $263.15 and a fifty-two week high of $430.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $406.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $377.97. The stock has a market cap of $8.55 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10 and a beta of 0.76.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The specialty retailer reported $7.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $1.21. The business had revenue of $5.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.32 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 70.92%. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.21 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Murphy USA news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 1,525 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.42, for a total transaction of $627,415.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,670 shares in the company, valued at $1,098,491.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,440 shares of company stock valued at $4,244,582 over the last three months. Company insiders own 9.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Murphy USA by 191.7% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 70 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. acquired a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 394.7% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 94 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Finally, Delta Asset Management LLC TN lifted its stake in Murphy USA by 70.7% during the fourth quarter. Delta Asset Management LLC TN now owns 128 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

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, as well as operates non-fuel convenience stores. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States.