Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Cut 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 note issued on Thursday.

MUSA has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $440.00 to $460.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Murphy USA from $382.00 to $408.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $470.00 price target on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $408.60.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

NYSE:MUSA traded up $10.73 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $418.29. The company had a trading volume of 165,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 219,024. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.28. Murphy USA has a 52 week low of $268.69 and a 52 week high of $430.83. The firm has a market cap of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $414.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $386.10.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.09 by ($0.97). Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.45% and a net margin of 2.43%. The company had revenue of $4.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.80 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Murphy USA

In related news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total transaction of $275,925.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Murphy USA news, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $415.55, for a total value of $275,925.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 2,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,002,722.15. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert J. Chumley sold 7,016 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $404.42, for a total transaction of $2,837,410.72. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,607,700.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 10,645 shares of company stock worth $4,326,582. 9.73% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 35,556.0% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 269,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,241,000 after buying an additional 269,159 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 4th quarter worth about $81,560,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth about $49,209,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,080,410 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $369,208,000 after buying an additional 140,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,125,000. 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.