Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on MUSA. 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 report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $510.80.

Murphy USA Trading Down 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MUSA opened at $478.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.19. Murphy USA has a 12-month low of $371.30 and a 12-month high of $561.08. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $509.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $507.16.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted 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 net margin of 2.48% and a return on equity of 62.73%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 5.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 40.4% during the third quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Murphy USA by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,444 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC grew its position in Murphy USA by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC now owns 967 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 26 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.