Wall Street Zen Upgrades Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) to "Strong-Buy"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Murphy USA to “strong-buy” from “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Hold” with a $606.89 price target.
• Murphy USA reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $11.27 versus $9.95 expected and revenue of $6.81 billion, up 36% year over year.
• The stock traded around $530.34, while institutional investors owned 80.81% of shares; two insiders recently sold stock, reducing their individual holdings.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on MUSA. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Murphy USA from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $550.00 to $625.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Murphy USA from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Murphy USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Murphy USA from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $380.00 to $550.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $606.89.

Murphy USA Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Murphy USA stock opened at $530.34 on Friday. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $349.83 and a 52-week high of $636.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.77. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $532.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $544.59. The firm has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.29.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Rosemary Turner sold 966 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $571.88, for a total transaction of $552,436.08. Following the sale, the director owned 449 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,774.12. This trade represents a 68.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Bartko sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $523.60, for a total transaction of $52,360.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $131,947.20. The trade was a 28.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 9.02% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Murphy USA in the second quarter worth about $915,734,000. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Murphy USA by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 506,214 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $204,267,000 after acquiring an additional 7,973 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 149,064 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $73,633,000 after acquiring an additional 4,836 shares during the period. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Murphy USA by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. Recurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 146,119 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $71,986,000 after acquiring an additional 27,513 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its position in Murphy USA by 21,322.2% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 103,041 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $55,526,000 after acquiring an additional 102,560 shares in the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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