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

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $469.50.

Murphy USA Stock Down 2.3 %

MUSA stock opened at $515.34 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $509.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $460.05. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $337.29 and a 12 month high of $552.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.63 and a beta of 0.77.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.69 billion. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.50% and a return on equity of 64.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Murphy USA will post 24.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In related news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,242,955.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Murphy USA news, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total transaction of $6,920,468.52. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 382,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,971,533.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $511.54, for a total transaction of $1,023,080.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 245,220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $102,797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth $81,560,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Murphy USA by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 204,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $95,940,000 after purchasing an additional 1,560 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 141,637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $66,493,000 after purchasing an additional 1,635 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 127,160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $53,305,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.