StockNews.com Upgrades Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) to “Buy”

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

MUSA has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $362.00 to $360.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Murphy USA in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.60.

Murphy USA Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:MUSA traded up $7.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $340.85. 218,292 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 277,795. The company has a fifty day moving average of $314.36 and a 200 day moving average of $288.88. Murphy USA has a 12 month low of $231.65 and a 12 month high of $342.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.38, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.80.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $6.02 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.09 by ($0.07). Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.59% and a return on equity of 80.20%. The firm had revenue of $5.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.61 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 21.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Murphy USA

In other news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 18,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.40, for a total value of $5,964,482.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,203,111.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO R Andrew Clyde sold 18,971 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $314.40, for a total value of $5,964,482.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,203,111.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher A. Click sold 700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.31, for a total transaction of $211,617.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,815 shares of company stock valued at $22,153,785. 9.04% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Murphy USA

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MUSA. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 213.6% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 6,789 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,358,000 after acquiring an additional 4,624 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $2,016,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $593,000. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS increased its position in Murphy USA by 7.5% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 8,407 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,681,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 1.4% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,670,297 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $533,953,000 after purchasing an additional 35,610 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.95% 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. It operates retail gasoline stores principally in the Southeast, Southwest, and Midwest United States. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas.