Royal Bank of Canada Increases Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Price Target to $554.00

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its price objective increased by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $550.00 to $554.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective points to a potential upside of 15.71% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.80.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA opened at $478.80 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $509.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $507.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.79. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $371.30 and a 1-year high of $561.08.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The specialty retailer reported $6.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.46 by $0.50. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. On average, equities analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 23.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Creative Planning grew its stake in Murphy USA by 8.7% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,233 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,048,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Murphy USA by 1.2% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,599 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the second quarter worth approximately $1,251,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 13.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 983 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Murphy USA by 20.3% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 326 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.