Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from Royal Bank Of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada cut Murphy USA’s price target from $619 to $612 while maintaining a “sector perform” rating, implying 12.29% potential upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: five analysts rate the stock a Buy and six rate it a Hold, producing a consensus “Hold” rating and average target price of $606.11.
• Murphy USA recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $11.27 earnings per share versus the $9.95 consensus estimate and $6.81 billion in revenue, up 36% year over year.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada from $619.00 to $612.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "sector perform" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Royal Bank Of Canada's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 12.29% from the stock's current price.

MUSA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $520.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $380.00 to $550.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Murphy USA from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $606.11.

Murphy USA Price Performance

Murphy USA stock traded up $6.32 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $545.02. The stock had a trading volume of 15,045 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,397. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.29. Murphy USA has a 1-year low of $349.83 and a 1-year high of $636.04. The stock's fifty day moving average is $529.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $546.23.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The specialty retailer reported $11.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.95 by $1.32. The business had revenue of $6.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.03 billion. Murphy USA had a return on equity of 96.01% and a net margin of 2.87%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 36.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.36 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 34.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Murphy USA

In other news, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total value of $52,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 252 shares of the company's stock, valued at $131,947.20. The trade was a 28.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total value of $552,436.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Murphy USA in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 82.5% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 73 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the second quarter valued at $37,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Murphy USA in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Sankala Group LLC purchased a new stake in Murphy USA during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.81% of the company's stock.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA Inc operates a nationwide network of retail gasoline stations and convenience stores in the United States. Its stores sell branded and unbranded motor fuel, tobacco products, nicotine products, beverages, snacks, packaged food, and other convenience items. Some locations also offer additional services such as lottery products and car washes.

The company operates stores under the Murphy USA and Murphy Express brands, primarily in proximity to Walmart stores and along major roads.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.