StockNews.com Downgrades Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) to Hold

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on MUSA. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Murphy USA from $538.00 to $537.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $530.00 to $545.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Murphy USA from $540.00 to $560.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $464.57.

Murphy USA Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $489.00 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $510.21 and a 200 day moving average of $462.76. The company has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $338.94 and a 12-month high of $552.30.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The specialty retailer reported $6.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.91 by $0.01. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.73% and a net margin of 2.50%. The company had revenue of $5.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Murphy USA will post 24.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the company’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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director James W. Keyes sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 16,114 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,242,955.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy sold 13,454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $514.38, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,209 shares of company stock valued at $16,564,666 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Murphy USA during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,251,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,599 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,159,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Murphy USA by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 2,233 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 141,637 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $66,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 29.1% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 1,015 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 229 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.