Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Rating Upgraded by Melius Research

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Melius Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on MUSA. StockNews.com cut shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 15th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $550.00 to $554.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $555.00 to $550.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $525.67.

Murphy USA Stock Down 3.5 %

MUSA opened at $452.19 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.80. Murphy USA has a twelve month low of $382.04 and a twelve month high of $561.08. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $482.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $501.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 61.60% and a net margin of 2.48%. Sell-side analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 26.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other Murphy USA news, Director Jeanne Linder Phillips sold 797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $452.31, for a total value of $360,491.07. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,062,476.19. This represents a 25.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Renee M. Bacon sold 2,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $469.58, for a total transaction of $939,160.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,200.66. This represents a 25.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,594 shares of company stock worth $1,695,043 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,864,405 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $935,465,000 after purchasing an additional 54,658 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,783,849 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $895,046,000 after buying an additional 32,643 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Murphy USA by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 590,558 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $291,068,000 after buying an additional 8,507 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Murphy USA by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 470,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $236,125,000 after buying an additional 18,097 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Murphy USA by 69.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 428,379 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $211,135,000 after acquiring an additional 176,308 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Murphy USA

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.