KeyCorp Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Price

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at KeyCorp from $480.00 to $460.00 in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the specialty retailer’s stock. KeyCorp’s target price suggests a potential upside of 21.07% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Murphy USA from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $350.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $405.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Murphy USA from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Murphy USA in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $474.00.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Shares of MUSA opened at $379.96 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $383.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $418.14. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $561.08. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.20.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The specialty retailer reported $7.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.82 by $0.54. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 64.63% and a net margin of 2.52%.The company had revenue of $5.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.92 EPS. Murphy USA’s quarterly revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Murphy USA will post 26.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, COO Malynda K. West sold 1,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.22, for a total transaction of $717,982.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 117,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,337,979.58. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Madison Murphy bought 5,000 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $367.01 per share, with a total value of $1,835,050.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 389,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $142,830,015.72. The trade was a 1.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 9.04% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 2,594.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 142,038 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $66,731,000 after buying an additional 136,766 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $241,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $40,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Murphy USA during the first quarter valued at $3,683,000. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC raised its position in Murphy USA by 2.7% during the second quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 34,898 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $14,197,000 after buying an additional 907 shares during the period. 80.81% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.