Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA) Stock

Key Points

• Bank of America raised its price target on Murphy USA from $600 to $625, while keeping a neutral rating. The new target implies about 5.75% upside from the previous close.
• Murphy USA beat quarterly expectations with EPS of $7.28 versus the $5.37 estimate, and revenue of $4.82 billion topped forecasts as well. Revenue also rose 6.5% from a year earlier.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive, with six Buy ratings and five Hold ratings, leading to a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $579.56.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Bank of America from $600.00 to $625.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Bank of America's price target points to a potential upside of 5.75% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Murphy USA from $450.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research cut Murphy USA from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on Murphy USA in a report on Thursday, March 26th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $539.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Murphy USA from $600.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Murphy USA from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $579.56.

Murphy USA Stock Performance

Murphy USA stock traded up $6.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $590.99. 93,030 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 344,616. Murphy USA has a 52-week low of $345.23 and a 52-week high of $636.04. The stock has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.24, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm's 50 day moving average is $558.79 and its 200 day moving average is $483.91.

Murphy USA (NYSE:MUSA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The specialty retailer reported $7.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.37 by $1.91. Murphy USA had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 91.05%. The business had revenue of $4.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Murphy USA will post 32.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Scott G. Woodward sold 158 shares of Murphy USA stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.50, for a total transaction of $94,879.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 476 shares of the company's stock, valued at $285,838. The trade was a 24.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Keith A. Emery sold 517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.49, for a total transaction of $297,011.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 500 shares in the company, valued at $287,245. This represents a 50.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,225 shares of company stock valued at $27,363,392. Company insiders own 9.02% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Murphy USA

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Murphy USA by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,625 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $876,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Kenora Financial LLC grew its holdings in Murphy USA by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Kenora Financial LLC now owns 654 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC increased its position in Murphy USA by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Enhancing Capital LLC now owns 1,132 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in Murphy USA by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,752 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Murphy USA by 3.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 864 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. 80.81% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Murphy USA Company Profile

Murphy USA is a leading downstream marketer of gasoline, diesel and convenience store products in the United States. Headquartered in El Dorado, Arkansas, the company was originally established as part of Murphy Oil Corporation and was spun off as an independent public entity in 2013. Since its separation, Murphy USA has focused on retail fueling services and convenience offerings designed to deliver value and convenience to consumers.

The company's primary operations center on two retail formats.

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.