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

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

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of Murphy USA from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $415.00 to $435.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Murphy USA presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $509.40.

Murphy USA Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of MUSA opened at $488.44 on Monday. Murphy USA has a fifty-two week low of $350.55 and a fifty-two week high of $561.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $523.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $505.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15 and a beta of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.64 by $0.56. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 62.73% and a net margin of 2.48%. The firm had revenue of $5.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.69 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 23.59 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Murphy USA by 5.4% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 391 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank boosted its position in Murphy USA by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 1,394 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $699,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Murphy USA by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 547 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindenwold Advisors INC raised its position in Murphy USA by 3.7% in the third quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC now owns 1,089 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company’s stock.

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.